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The strategy is already part of its tried-and-tested Absolute Insight range under head of alternatives Reza Vishkai.

Insight said it aimed to list the portfolio on Cofunds. It would be one of the first European absolute return funds with an established track record to open up to the mainstream retail market.

The Absolute Insight range is a fettered fund of funds that features five internally managed strategies. These comprise UK equity market neutral, European equity market neutral, international equity market neutral, emerging market debt and currency remits.

Last week saw a renewed push from Insight into the absolute return space after the asset manager hired Sonja Uys from JPMorgan as a product specialist for absolute return strategies.

The £114m Absolute Insight UK Equity Market Neutral fund will now also be competing with BlackRock's £1.4bn UK Absolute Alpha portfolio on Cofunds after the HBOS division listed it on the platform last week.

This retail version of the UK equity market neutral strategy is run by Andrew Cawker and Richard Howarth. It is an Irish-domiciled Oeic that targets three-month sterling Libid and has outperformed its benchmark since launch.

There are a number of differences between the Absolute Insight umbrella fund and the standalone absolute return offering that Insight has been bringing to the UK retail market.

Although the Absolute Insight umbrella fund is a Nurs vehicle, for instance, the Absolute Insight UK Equity Market Neutral fund is Ucits III. According to the full Insight prospectus, the minimum retail investment on the Absolute Insight umbrella is also £5000, while the minimum for the Absolute Insight UK Equity Market Neutral fund is £10,000. The minimum through Cofunds is £1000, however.

Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, said a European absolute return fund would meet demand in areas where IFAs want European equity exposure, but do not want to be wedded to a long-only strategy.

"Because of the mass inflows into BlackRock's UK Absolute Alpha fund, people are clearly looking at launching into the market," he said. "Advisers may want to maintain a European exposure, but take a more absolute return stance. Even if it's European market neutral, you've still got exposure to European equities."

However, some IFAs were sceptical of providers launching any products into current market conditions. Kevin Tooze, managing director of Essex-based IFA Equity Partners, said asset managers should devote more time to shoring up their existing ranges in the face of the recent turbulence.