|
|
Old Mutual Elite Sterling Growth Fund - News
|
|
|
Old Mutual Elite Sterling Growth Fund
|
Fund
News
|
|
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Dec 03
|
|
Wednesday, 28 January 2004
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equity markets rose strongly over Q4 and this was reflected in the GBP Growth portfolio, gaining 4.56% during Q4, and 1.55% in December. If policymakers are to be believed, conditions for business remain favourable and talk is of a sustained period of stable growth, which, if it materialises, could mean there is further upside in equities over 2004.
The portfolio has had a strong 2003 gaining 19.49% against a benchmark performance of 17.36%. This highlights the excellent management skills being used within the Elite portfolios. All of the key markets have enjoyed good success in 2003 after a poor first quarter, but the tactical allocation of these regions has served the portfolio well. The portfolio's UK managers benefited from taking on a higher level of market exposure during the rising market, and were helped considerably by an overweight exposure to cyclically sensitive stocks. This performed much more strongly than traditional value stocks across the board, and this was a theme experienced across all regions.
The global equity managers used by the fund performed particularly strongly, benefiting from overweight exposure to Japan and a strategic underweight to the US. The style of these managers over the final quarter generally has been to take on additional market bias, and this has benefited the portfolio as markets rallied. In addition, the global managers benefited from some particularly strong stock selection in the pharmaceutical and telecoms sectors. The overweight Japanese section of the portfolio performed particularly strongly by focusing on mid cap stocks, as well as those with a local bias. The portfolio was therefore considerably boosted by the swelling demand for Japanese exports over the quarter. This was due in no small measure to demand from an increasingly import-hungry US economy. In Europe, the managers benefited from strong country selection and their underweight in more defensive stocks.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Oct 03
|
|
Wednesday, 26 November 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equity markets continued to be lifted by positive economic news during the month of October. Markets rose 4.26% in sterling terms in the month of October, which led to strong positive performance in the Sterling Growth portfolio of 3.01% for the month.
The global equity managers used by the fund performed particularly strongly, benefiting from overweight exposure to Japan and a strategic underweight in the US section of their mandate. The style of these managers over the third quarter generally has been to take on additional market bias, and this has benefited the portfolio as markets rallied. In addition, the global managers benefited from some particularly strong stock selection in the pharmaceutical and telecoms sectors.
The portfolio's UK managers benefited from taken on a higher level of market exposure during the rising market, and were helped considerably by an overweight exposure to cyclically sensitive stocks. This performed much more strongly than traditional value stocks across the board, and this was a theme experienced across all regions.
In the US section of the portfolio, the bias towards smallcap stocks taken on by a number of the managers was beneficial to the portfolio, as was stock selection in a number of key areas. Among the best investment ideas generated were Paychex, the payroll, human resources and benefits outsourcing company, and Solectron, who provide design, manufacturing and post-manufacturing services.
In Europe, the managers benefited from strong country selection and their underweight in more defensive stocks. Some elements of stock selection hindered overall relative performance, however.
The overweight Japanese section of the portfolio performed particularly strongly by focusing on mid cap stocks, as well as those with a local bias. The portfolio was therefore considerably boosted by the swelling demand for Japanese exports over the quarter. This was due in no small measure to demand from an increasingly import-hungry US economy. Some elements of stock selection hindered overall relative performance, however.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Sep 03
|
|
Thursday, 13 November 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities as measured by the MSCI World index have risen in each of the past six months, though their performance in September was more muted than over previous periods. The Sterling Growth portfolio suffered the effects of a weaker dollar over the period, as a significant portion of its assets is held in dollars. The portfolio was still able to outperform the benchmark, however, with a loss of 3.35% comparing to a benchmark performance of -4.16%.
Greatest growth was seen in the more economically sensitive areas of the portfolio. The manager was overweight areas such as retail, technology and advertising over much of the period, anticipating the greater responsiveness of such stocks to a rallying market.
GAM Star American Focus performed well among the large cap holdings, due to its increased exposure to technology shares. The fund returned 4.23% in sterling terms over the quarter - significantly ahead of the 1.63% seen on the S&P 500.
The European sections of the portfolio also performed well over the period. Odey Continental Europe returned 5.56% in dollar terms over the quarter, compared to the MSCI Europe ex UK which returned 3.37%.
The US economy in particular continues to expand at an encouraging rate, and it is anticipated that equities will continue to rise in the fourth quarter. Whether meaningful progress is made in the medium term, however, depends on the picture that emerges of corporate earnings in the second half, and on the revival or otherwise of the US employment market.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Aug 03
|
|
Thursday, 18 September 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| The MSCI World index of global equities has now risen for the last five months, and these gains have been reflected in the Sterling Growth portfolio, which rose by 4.68% in August. The portfolio outperformed the benchmark over the month and is well ahead of its benchmark since launch too.
Mid and Small cap funds were the best performers in the UK, led by strong performance from the Old Mutual UK Select Smaller Companies fund, up over 5% for the month while the FTSE All-Share index was up only 0.92% over August. Gartmore UK Focus and GAM UK Diversified were also solid performers over the month.
In the US portion of the portfolio there was strong performance from the Wanger US Smaller Companies fund and also the Legg Mason Smaller Companies fund. Since the equity rebound began in March, it has been predominantly led by the smaller cap stocks. This trend continued during August and the Aggressive portfolio benefited from the manager being overweight the smaller cap sector. The other funds, more large cap focused, performed well too against their respective benchmarks as they were overweight economically sensitive areas of the market, eg, Retail, technology and advertising.
Odey Continental Europe performed well, up almost 5% in August, while Gartmore European did well too, beating its benchmark by over 1%.
The Nikkei 225 index rose by over 8% in August, building on strong gains the previous month too. The Japanese element of the portfolio mirrored these gains as stronger than anticipated domestic economic data continued hopes of a recovery. All three of the Japanese funds did well returning over 9% each and therefore all beating the Nikkei 225 index.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Jul 03
|
|
Tuesday, 26 August 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| The Sterling Growth portfolio rose by 4.72% during the month of July and outperformed its benchmark in the process.
Within the UK portion of the portfolio there was some mixed perfromance. GAM UK Diversified was the star performer returning just over 9% for the month. Gartmore UK Focus also had a good month, gaining over 6%. DWS, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse all marginally underperformed their benchmarks over July.
The US component of the portfolio saw most funds beat the S&P 500. GAM Star American Focus was the best performer from the large cap holdings - returning over 3% for the month (the S&P 500 rose by 1.62%). The Legg Mason US Small Cap fund produced returns of over 10% for the month, emphasising the fact that smaller caps stocks had the better of large caps in July. In particular the fund had a large exposure to technology stocks which helped to boost performance.
The European funds performed around their benchmarks as did the Emerging Markets component of the portfolio.
All three of the Japanese funds managed to outperform the Topix index in July. In stark contrast to the US and UK it was the large cap stocks which were in favour here on expectations there would be a turnaround in fortunes for the long struggling Japanese economy. Export driven stocks were the chief gainers as foreign buyers flocked back to the market.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Jun 03
|
|
Tuesday, 12 August 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| The Sterling Growth portfolio outperformed its benchmark over the quarter, driven by a good 3 months for global equities.
GAM UK Diversified has had a very good quarter, beating the benchmark in all of the last three months. Elsewhere, Credit Suisse Income, Old Mutual UK Smaller Companies and Fidelity Special Situations were strong performing funds, beating the benchmark over the month.
Within the US portion, two new funds were added. These were the Investec American Equity fund and the Legg Mason US Smaller Companies fund. The Govett US Opportunities fund has been removed from the portfolio to make way for the new holdings.
Legg Mason US Smaller Companies is a well diversified fund of between 200-300 stocks and the fund complements the Wanger US Smaller Companies fund which is a good deal more concentrated, holding 40-50 stocks. The Investec American fund comes with an exemplary track record, having been in the top decile over all periods since its launch.
The other change to note in the portfolio came in the European exposure. Investec European has been removed after a period of underperformance and this has been replaced by the Artemis European Growth fund. This fund is also top decile over long periods and has outperformed its benchmark by 8% in sterling terms. European performance was generally around the benchmark with Gartmore being the star performer, outperforming the benchmark by almost 2%.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - May 03
|
|
Thursday, 19 June 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities gained strongly over May and this was reflected in the Sterling Growth portfolio. The portfolio returned 5.21%, well ahead of its benchmark which gained 3.24%. The Sterling Growth portfolio is now ahead of its benchmark over all periods.
GAM UK Diversified had another very strong month which was the 6th best in the sector. The fund gained over 12% in May, building on April performance of 17%. Fidelity Special Situations and Gartmore UK Focus also performed strongly while DWS UK Growth and Credit Suisse Income also outperformed their benchmarks. This led to excellent performance from the UK as a region.
Within the US portion, two new funds have been added. These are the Investec American Equity fund and the Legg Mason US Smaller Companies fund. The Govett US Opportunities fund has been removed from the portfolio to make way for the new holdings.
Legg Mason US Smaller Companies is a well diversified fund of between 200-300 stocks and the fund complements the Wanger US Smaller Companies fund which is a good deal more concentrated, holding 40-50 stocks. The Investec American fund comes with an exemplary track record, having been in the top decile over all periods since its launch. The style employed by this fund is of a bottom up stock picking nature where the analysts look at the company's intrinsic value.
The other change to note in the portfolio came in the European exposure. Investec European has been removed after a period of underperformance and this has been replaced by the Artemis European Growth fund. This fund is also top decile over long periods and has outperformed its benchmark by 8% in sterling terms.
Elsewhere in Europe, Fidelity European and Odey European had strong performance, both outperforming their respective benchmarks.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Apr 03
|
|
Thursday, 12 June 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities gained strongly over April and this was reflected in the Sterling Growth portfolio. UK markets followed global equities higher too, rising almost 9% in April. The small cap sector performed slightly better than the large caps. IT and telecoms were strong in the UK too and this led to the GAM UK Diversified fund being the best performer over the month, recovering well from a poor previous couple of months. Elsewhere, strong performance was also seen from the Gartmore UK Focus and Fidelity Special Situations funds.
In the US portion, the star performer was once again the Legg Mason Strategic Value fund. This fund was weighted towards the larger cap stocks and in particular overweight in financials, which was the best performing sector on the S&P 500. Information Technology and Telecoms were two other sectors, which led the charge in US markets. GAM Star American Focus had a poor month, underperforming its benchmark due in part to it being underweight financials.
Europe as a region, although making good gains over the month, proved to be marginally behind the benchmark. The majority of the holdings, Thames River and Gartmore in particular, performed well, however Odey Continental Europe weighed heavily on performance. This fund has been an excellent performer throughout the geopolitical uncertainty, however it was still positioned relatively defensively and therefore did not take full advantage of the uptick in equities.
Japan, which is having a hard time of things, saw a slight fall in equity prices as the SARS virus threatened the Asia region as a whole.
The emerging markets exposure has added significant value to the portfolio over April. Eastern Europe has been a key driver to these returns with the best performing individual region being Turkey. Latin America performed strongly as a region too, with the Morgan Stanley fund gaining 14% over the month.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Mar 03
|
|
Friday, 23 May 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| As markets edged downwards in a turbulent quarter, the Sterling Growth portfolio mirrored these falls, but did outperform the benchmark over March. The war situation remains the key driver of the markets at the moment with economic and corporate stories taking a distant back seat.
The manager has continued to search for returns by making slight changes to the portfolio over Q1.
Within the UK portion, the GAM UK Diversified fund had a good start to the quarter but lost ground in the latter part of Q1. The manager, Andrew Green, bought into some of the beaten down areas of the market, picking up undervalued stocks along the way, however lost ground as the markets retrenched. His contrarian style has performed very well over time and he still holds his views, undeterred by the current market volatility.
The euro has continued to strengthen against major currencies, most notably the US dollar throughout Q1, and this has european exports. The knock-on effect from this is that analysts are fearing there is worse ahead for the european economies.
Wanger US Smaller Companies has been introduced to add a little further small cap exposure to the US portion of the portfolio during Q1. The holding of Franklin US Equity has been reduced to make room for the addition. The fund is a bottom up stockpicker which looks for companies which the firms analysts believe will grow by 20% a year. The manager also ensures that stock selection is made across a broad range of stocks and sectors.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Feb 03
|
|
Friday, 28 March 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities, in Sterling terms, posted positive returns in February, as did the FTSE All Share index. This fed through to positive performance from the Sterling Growth portfolio.
The GAM UK Diversified fund has been a strong performer of late, however it did suffer during February. The manager, Andrew Green, said "the last couple of weeks have been particularly difficult with the market giving up on the recovery and retreating to extremely defensive areas. This is a necessary part of the revulsion phase although it is difficult to guage how long it will last". He continues to look towards distressed equities at very good buying opportunities to add value to the fund.Elsewhere in the UK portion, performance was mixed with Fidelity Special Situations slightly underperforming but JP Morgan Premier Equity Growth outperforming.
The Wanger US Smaller Companies fund, which replaced the Schroder US Small Cap fund in January has proven to be a good move as this was the best performing fund in the US portion of the portfolio. The normally reliable Legg Mason Strategic Value fund marginally underperformed its benchmark in February, although this has been a fund which has added significant value to the US element of the portfolio in recent months.
As the euro strengthened further against major currencies, European exports were threatened and so too were corporate profits. Continental European indices lost ground in February as a result, with the German Dax and the French CAC losing over 7% and 6% respectively.
The problems facing the Japanese economy continue to cause concerns for analysts and economists alike. The Bank of Japan, it has been revealed, intervened in the currency markets for the second consecutive month in February to try and curb the rising strength of the yen against the US dollar. A rising yen makes Japanese exports more expensive for countries world-wide and this in turn hurts an already fragile Japanese economy further.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Jan 03
|
|
Wednesday, 26 March 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| The weak performance from UK equities in January ended the hopes many held for a positive start to 2003. Hawkish comments from President Bush have hit already fragile investor sentiment. The FTSE 100 recorded an unprecedented 11-day losing streak mid-month which took the index to its lowest point since October 1995. Every sector within the UK index suffered a fall over January. In spite of this, the Sterling Growth portfolio managed to outperform its benchmark over the month and is also ahead over all time periods.
Within the UK portion, the GAM UK Diversified fund continues to be an excellent performer. The manager, Andrew Green, has been recently buying into some of the beaten down areas of the market, picking up undervalued stocks along the way. His contrarian style has performed very well, as over the last three years the fund has returned over 20% whilst the FTSE All-Share is down almost 37%.
Wanger US Smaller Companies has been introduced to add a little further small cap exposure to the US portion of the portfolio. The holding of Franklin US equity has been reduced to make room for the addition. The fund is a bottom up stockpicker which looks for companies which the firms analysts believe will grow by 20% a year. The manager also ensures that stock selection is made across a broad range of stocks and sectors.
Japan continues to prove a difficult region. Equities here declined as the prospect of war, disappointing US economic data and a falling dollar hurt an already wounded domestic economy.
As the euro strengthened further against major currencies, european exports were threatened and so too were corporate profits. This led to all major european indices losing ground over January, with the German Dax and the French CAC losing over 5% and 4% respectively.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Dec 02
|
|
Thursday, 13 February 2003
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| The Sterling Growth portfolio managed to outperform its benchmark over December by -1%, despite the falling global indices. All UK holdings in the portfolio bettered returns from the broad FTSE All Share index in December.
A new fund has been added into the UK exposure of the fund. DWS UK Growth has a team of six senior fund managers and, in keeping with the current approach within Elite, is a stock picking fund. The team, headed by Charles Curtis, takes into account the company's competitive position, quality of management and long-term cash flow return on investment before making stock decisions. This fund has a strong track record and has outperformed its benchmark, the FTSE 350, throughout both bull and bear markets. To accommodate this fund, the GAM and Credit Suisse holdings have been reduced slightly. This change reduces the defensive element of the portfolio slightly and repositions more towards a growth bias.
An additional fund has been brought in to the US component in search of a slight growth bias during Q4. DWS American Growth is a quality stock picking fund focusing very much on large cap stocks which does not take excessive risk. The fund manager, Charles Martyn Hemphill, heads up the North American team and has over 20 years fund management experience at DWS in addition to a degree from Oxford University.
The European holdings performed solidly over December, with particularly good performance coming from Fidelity European and Odey Continental Europe.
Within the emerging markets portion of the portfolio, Baring Australia was the best performing fund over December.
|
| Click here for original article |
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Nov 02
|
|
Thursday, 19 December 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| The Sterling Growth portfolio has produced solid performance over November, rising by 4.68%. The portfolio remains ahead of its benchmark over one year.
A new fund has been added into the UK exposure of the fund. DWS UK Growth has a team of six senior fund managers and, in keeping with the current approach within Elite, is a stock picking fund. The team, headed by Charles Curtis, takes into account the company's competitive position, quality of management and long-term cash flow return on investment before making stock decisions. This fund has a strong track record and has outperformed its benchmark, the FTSE 350, throughout both bull and bear markets. To accommodate this fund, the GAM and Credit Suisse holdings have been reduced slightly. This change reduces the defensive element of the portfolio slightly and repositions more towards a growth bias.
A further fund has been added to the US component in search of a slight growth bias. DWS American Growth fits the bill as it is a quality stock picking fund focusing very much on large cap stocks which does not take excessive risk. The fund manager, Charles Martyn Hemphill, heads up the North American team and has over 20 years fund management experience at DWS in addition to a degree from Oxford University.
Odey European has been an excellent performer over the year and has been ranked first in its sector. The flexible style of the manager enables him to completely transform the positioning of the portfolio very quickly. A couple of months ago, the fund was very defensively positioned but over the last few weeks it has become more aggressive, capturing the upside currently experienced from the equity markets, indicating good active management.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Oct 02
|
|
Monday, 18 November 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Equity markets enjoyed their best monthly rise this year in October and this was mirrored in the Sterling Growth portfolio. The portfolio rose by 5.87%.
Key UK exposure is via GAM UK Diversified and JP Morgan Premier Equity Growth with more satellite holdings in Fidelity Special Situations, Credit Suisse Income and Old Mutual Select Smaller Companies. The GAM UK Diversified fund has performed well of late and the manager, Andrew Green, is still positioned fairly defensively.
The core holdings in the US component are JP Morgan Fleming Blue Chip, Legg Mason Strategic Value and GAM American Focus. The satellite holdings are currently Govett US Opportunities and Franklin US Equity. Strong performance came from the US large cap funds with GAM American Focus, JP Morgan Fleming and Legg Mason performing particularly well. All of these funds have a fairly concentrated large cap bias.
Govett US Opportunities is a more diverse fund containing 60-80 stocks and focuses on mid/small cap companies while Franklin US equity is a multi cap, multi style flexible fund.
Within Europe, Thames River European is a solid core holding and aims to keep volatility low. Tony Zucker, the manager of this fund, invests predominantly in large cap stocks and broadly in line with the benchmark. The fund has performed well since being added to the portfolio and was again ahead of its benchmark over October.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Sep 02
|
|
Friday, 8 November 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| With equity markets performing the way they did in Q3 2002, the Sterling Growth portfolio has done well to outperform over the quarter. Over September the portfolio outperformed the benchmark by almost 2%, again highlighting the quality stockpicking capabilities within Elite.
The key holdings within the UK portion have changed over Q3 to fit with the rapidly changing investment climate. The fund manager of the HSBC UK Equity fund left and as a result the fund has been taken out of the portfolio. Credit Suisse Income and GAM UK Diversified have been introduced during Q3.
Andrew Green, who recently received an outstanding achievement award, runs the GAM UK Diversified fund. The fund has the ability to invest in bonds as well as equities and given the current climate this has been beneficial to the fund which has been introduced as a satellite holding.
Within the european exposure, the Old Mutual European Blue Chip portfolio has been removed. Instead, funds have been moved to Thames River European and also Odey Continental Europe.
Thames River has been introduced as a core holding and aims to keep volatility low. Tony Zucker, the manager of this fund, invests predominantly in large cap stocks and broadly in line with the benchmark. The fund has performed well since being added to the portfolio, outperforming its benchmark in September.
The Odey Continental Europe fund, run by Hugh Hendrie, is very flexible and is an excellent satellite holding. The manager has within his mandate the ability to switch some exposure to bonds and cash and this has helped recent performance.
Within the Japanese portion of the portfolio, the manager bought into the Fidelity Japan Special Situations fund in order to increase the overall small cap exposure.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Aug 02
|
|
Tuesday, 17 September 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| With continuing mixed economic data, equity market sentiment remains fragile. Fundamental economic data when positive is being ignored, and when negative being exaggerated. The MSCI World index of global equities was flat in August whilst the FTSE All Share index was slightly down by 0.22%. The Sterling Growth portfolio outperformed the benchmark over the month and is also ahead over six months and one year.
The US economy continues to be the main global focus where mixed economic news is coming through. US GDP grew 1.1% in the second quarter, less than what economists had expected. Some positive economic data also filtered through - productivity, an engine of the US economy's longest expansion in the 1990s, rose for the fourth quarter in a row in Q2 at double the pace economists had expected in the first three months of the year. US consumer confidence steadied in August, the University of Michigan survey showed, indicating that consumer spending probably will support the economy's recovery. The Federal reserve left interest rates at a 41-year low of 1.75%.
UK interest rates remained unchanged again in August and are not likely to be cut due to the fact that the UK property market continues to rise at an astounding pace - the fastest annual pace since 1989. The consumer is maintaining strong spending in the high street however manufacturing is struggling and this combination implies interest rates may stay on hold for some time to come.
Within the Japanese portion of the portfolio, the manager bought into the Fidelity Japan Special Situations fund in order to increase the overall small companies exposure. Year to date the fund is up c.5% in dollar terms and also first decile.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Jul 02
|
|
Thursday, 29 August 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| In the wake of Enron and WorldCom, equity market sentiment is fragile at present, which is leading to volatile markets. Fundamental economic data when positive is being ignored, and when negative being exaggerated. The MSCI World index of global equities was down in July by 8.51% whilst the FTSE All Share index suffered losses of 9.38%. The Sterling Growth portfolio did underperform slightly in July but is ahead of the benchmark over three, six, twelve months and since launch.
The UK's goods trade deficit contracted sharply to £1.7bn in May with exports to countries outside Europe surging. Rising goods exports suggest a recovery in the manufacturing sector, providing greater balance in the UK's two-speed economy. The manager has selected funds which can respond well to the changing economic conditions found in today's environment. For example the HSBC UK Equity fund is managed by Tim Russell who has the flexibility to shift between growth and value stocks as he sees fit, thus not restricting him to one particular style.
The US economy continues to be the main global focus. Only when signs of a sustained economic recovery in the US are seen will the rest of the world economies' regain more solid growth patterns. "The US economy is gaining momentum and can weather a loss of faith in corporate honesty", said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in his monetary policy statement to the US Senate Banking Committee during July. The Fed raised its growth forecast for this year to as much as 3.75%.
Within the European portion of the portfolio, the Old Mutual European Blue Chip fund has been replaced by HSBC European equity fund. This fund has been introduced as a core holding and sits alongside Gartmore, Investec and Fidelity in the European exposure of the portfolio.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - Jun 02
|
|
Friday, 26 July 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities have had a torrid time over the last quarter with the UK market being no exception. The FTSE All Share index was down by c. 11.5% over the quarter. The Sterling Growth portfolio has performed well, beating the benchmark over both the short term and since launch. The portfolio outperformed the benchmark by over 3% during Q2.
The UK economy continues to be robust with consumers still spending and house prices continuing to rise. The fact that inflation is still so low has helped the Bank of England keep interest rates on hold throughout the quarter.
Ashton Bradbury, who manages the Old Mutual UK Smaller Companies fund, was named overall fund manager of the year by Citywire Funds Inside in May. He has already established an outstanding reputation as a stockpicker and now he has received this third party endorsement to back this up. The fund has outperformed the FTSE All Share comfortably over Q2.
The main focus in the UK continues to be via HSBC and JP Morgan Fleming in the UK, with satellite holdings being in Fidelity Special Situations and Old Mutual Smaller Companies.
John Muresianu, the manager of the Fidelity American fund retired in June, to spend time managing his own investments. This fund was a particularly strong performer and was in positive territory year to date, highlighting the quality of his stockpicking ability. Within Elite, the manager has decided to lock in the gains made from this by selling and switching to Govett US Opportunities which is a fund run in a similar manner to Fidelity American.
The Govett US Opportunities fund has a 5 star rating from Standard and Poors so is a more than competent substitute. The fund, managed by Gil Knight, is 1st quartile over 1 year, 3 years and since launch, endorsing the management style of the manager.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - May 02
|
|
Friday, 26 July 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| As global equities edged downwards the Sterling Growth portfolio traded downwards too. The portfolio is ahead of the benchmark over the short term and since launch. The combination of pragmatic managers in the UK and US has underpinned a robust performance.
The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged as the UK economy continued to progress in a robust manner. UK service industries reported their best showing in more than a year in May, and UK house prices continue their relentless rise. House prices remain key to UK consumer confidence - only when people are secure in their jobs do they look to purchase a house. All this positive economic news failed to lift the equity markets however as the FTSE All Share index fell 1.45%.
All eyes still appear to be focused on the US market and until some significant signs of progress are noted here, the rest of the world seems content to wait patiently. Good economic news is coming through, however, this is being offset by less than startling corporate newsflow. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, but importantly reiterated the neutral bias showing the Fed is confident about recovery.
The main focus in the UK continues to be via HSBC and JP Morgan Fleming in the UK, with satellite holdings being in Fidelity Special Situations and Old Mutual Smaller Companies. HSBC as the core part of the portfolio performed well this month, as did the Fidelity Special Situations fund.
Ashton Bradbury, who manages the Old Mutual UK smaller companies fund, was named overall fund manager of the year by Citywire Funds Inside in May. He has already established an outstanding reputation as a stockpicker and now he has received the third party endorsement to back this up. The fund was up over 1%, whilst the UK equity market was negative over the month.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - April 02
|
|
Monday, 24 June 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities suffered a poor month as poor views on corporate recovery prospects led markets downward. The benchmark suffered a fall, the scale of which has not occurred since August 2001, excluding the impact of the September 11 attacks. At a headline level, this could deter investors but a closer examination of the underlying fundamentals shows that the economy is recovering (evidenced by Q1 GDP, manufacturing output and improving export order books). The stockmarket has not been able to reflect the improving health of the economy, as emotion over corporate recovery prospects clouds the fundamentals and subsequently market direction.
The fall in April of the benchmark was not mirrored by the portfolio, which outperformed on a relative basis by c.2.4%. On a six month basis the portfolio is up over six percent in absolute terms doubling the performance of the benchmark.
Comments from the underlying managers on the prospect for corporate earnings is strong, consolidated forecasts for earnings growth this year are that earnings will rise 26% and Gerrard forecast growth for indices, based on earnings growth, is 15%. The stock views from managers differ which is one reason they form part of the portfolio because their collective expertise ensures investors have the broadest net to capture value in the market.
The UK is a key part of the portfolio and last months budget from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, increased spending and put the Bank of England in the spotlight to make the tough decision on how to manage the consumer expansion in the UK. The HSBC and JP Morgan Premier Equity Growth funds both outperformed the FTSE All Share index, backing the disciplined nature of these managers to be benchmark aware but primarily seeking to outperform.
|
| |
|
OM Elite Sterling Growth comment - March 02
|
|
Thursday, 16 May 2002
|
Fund Manager Comment
|
| Global equities were flat in the first quarter of 2002 despite a strong 4% rise over March 2002, whilst the FTSE All Share was up c. 3.5% which was reflected in portfolio performance for March 2002. The Sterling Growth portfolio is now ahead of the benchmark over six months, but marginally behind the benchmark for the quarter.
In Europe, the manager has purchased Investec Continental Europe and reduced his exposure to Gartmore this quarter. The Investec fund does not adhere to any benchmark but is controlled by limiting any one stock to 5% of the overall fund. It is a stockpicking fund with between 30 - 40 holdings generally focused on large cap companies.
The European component received a third party endorsement this month as Standard & Poors raised the research rating for the Investec and Fidelity Funds to AAA. Standard and Poors commented that Albert Morillo, manager of the Investec European Fund, has decisive views, which are tempered by a pragmatic assessment of risk, meaning that he avoids aggressive positions. Separately, Anthony Bolton, manager of the Fidelity European Fund, was noted on his seemless ability to continue managing the mid-cap focused fund even though the overall fund size was increasing.
The UK exposure was altered this quarter by removing Liontrust First Growth. This was a good performer but the degree of correlation between this and the HSBC and Premier Equity Growth funds became too high. Removing the fund reduces the style risk and allows the manager to bring in Fidelity Special Situations, a quality stockpicking fund managed by Anthony Bolton, which has scope to vary from the benchmark.
The main focus on UK equities continues to be via HSBC and JP Morgan Fleming, with satellite holdings being Fidelity Special Situations and Old Mutual Smaller Companies, whilst the main focus on US equities is via JP Morgan Fleming, Legg Mason and GAM American Star Focus.
|
| |
|
|
