I think there's an explanation, and if I'm not mistaken, somebody (Agip?) may have pointed this out before.
A fund like that is a hedge and serves a need in a larger marketplace. Certain investors seek out a fund which essentially bets against the market or expects a downturn, and perhaps investors are not parking all their assets there but only a portion as a hedge in case the market does go down, according to their bias.
They are fufilling a need and their is always the possibility that we are on the brink of a downturn/correction.
It is counter-intuitive to most investors who understand mututal funds in the context of growth. That one is more about mitigating the loss of capital, or as a hedge on the market, and in fact, some investors want that.