Philip Rodrigs, the man at the helm of the Investec UK Smaller Companies fund, has good reason to be cheerful. The 30-year-old fund manager has delivered an impressive 66.2% return over the past five years. Even during the past 12 months the fund has delivered a 23.7% return, in spite of turbulent conditions for young companies.
Rodrigs discovered early in his career that small companies were his preferred investment arena. Speaking to Investment Adviser, he says: “There is less awareness of those companies, so it was easier to get to a point where you felt you really had knowledge that enabled you to perform differently to the market. That really attracted me.”
The manager of the £307m fund describes himself as “style agnostic”, maintaining a keen eye on cash. He tells Shares magazine: “I look for cheaply valued business models and highly valuable cash flows.”
Rodrigs likes to invest in companies at the time of their initial public offering (IPO), as this is when a cash injection can make a real difference. He has owned the fund’s biggest holding, online dating group Cupid, since its IPO, but has no plans to sell even though the stock is trading on a prospective p/e of 24. “Growth companies can very quickly deliver growth that makes them cheap again.”
Other favourite holdings include Asian Citrus, Kenmare Resources, and miner Sierra Rutile. The latter is “one of the most exciting companies on the stockmarket today”. It has “significant potential”, but also remains “massively under the radar”.
Contact: 020-7597 2000.
Investec UK Smaller Companies top ten holdings
| Name of holding | % of assets |
|---|---|
| Cupid | 3.8% |
| Immunodiagnostic Systems | 2% |
| Entertainment One | 2% |
| EMIS Group | 2% |
| Vectura Group | 1.9% |
| Sierra Rutile | 1.9% |
| Brammer | 1.9% |
| Galliford Try | 1.8% |
| Kofax | 1.8% |
| Dignity | 1.7% |