A hedge fund focusing on Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan has generated a net investment return of more than 30% in its first 12 months of trading, largely as a result of a rise in the price of Russian utility companies.

The managers of the $106m (€79m) Elbrus fund run by Polar Capital, a UK-listed asset manager, said it had made a return net of fees of 30.2% for the 12 months ended April, with a volatility of 16.2%.