The parallels between music and fund management aren’t obvious. Yet for Dr Paul Jourdan, a former violinist and manager of CF Amati UK Smaller Companies Fund, “it is always about performance”. “Just as you’re only as good as your last concert, as a fund manager you are only as good as your past returns.”
His novel perspective appears to be paying off. The fund has been ranked in the top five in its sector over one, three and five years. Individual weightings rarely top 5% and there is a wide spread of sectors represented. Industrials and technology are prominent. Despite its name, the fund has less than 30% exposure to UK-based operations. Indeed, Jourdan is cautious about Britain’s prospects in 2011 and likes “UK-listed companies with exposure to international markets, especially the high-growth markets of the Far East”.
He uses a ‘bottom-up’ value investing approach that relies on fundamental research at a company level. He looks for discrepancies between a firm’s worth and the value placed on it by the market. In 2010, for instance, he noticed EnCore Oil’s options on two North Sea wells hadn’t been priced in – and bought shares.
“Paul has only been managing money for ten years and there are some mixed periods within that,” says Hargreaves Lansdown investment manager Ben Yearsley. But “if he is still producing the numbers in five years, he will be counted among the top managers”. So now could be a great time to tap his potential.
Contact: 0845-922 0044.
CF Amati UK Smaller Companies Fund top ten holdings
| Name of holding | % of assets |
|---|---|
| Entertainment One Ltd | 5.6 |
| XP Power Plc | 3.4 |
| Asian Citrus Holdings | 2.9 |
| Optos | 2.5 |
| Andor Technology | 2.5 |
| Advanced Medical Solutions Group | 2.4 |
| RPC Group | 2.4 |
| New Britain Palm Oil Ltd | 2.1 |
| Skywest Airlines Ltd | 2.1 |
| Eco Animal Health Group Plc | 2.1 |