Anthony Cross has not had a great time lately by his high standards. Along with Julian Fosh, he manages the Liontrust Special Situations Fund. It invests in a concentrated portfolio of UK firms, aiming for capital growth in excess of the FTSE All-Share index over rolling three-year periods.
The last six months have been tough – the fund returned -2.7%. But that still beat the -6.7% fall in the FTSE All Share index and a 6% drop in the IMA UK All Companies sector. The fund also grew from £13.5m assets under management in June 2010 to over £100 million in June 2011 and was named as the top-performing fund in the UK equity markets for the last year, with a gain of 11.7%. The fund’s track record since launch in 2005 is impressive too – itreturned 103.9% against 38.1% for the FTSE All-Share. So how do they do it?
Cross and Fosh only invest in firms with “distinctive, intangible strengths that competitors struggle to reproduce”. This includes large, internationally diversified firms able to benefit from global growth, with high levels of recurring business and established distribution channels, such as GlaxoSmithKline and Shell. The fund also targets smaller market-leading firms that dominate niche areas with “unique assets … such as intellectual property, technology licences or patents”, says Investment Times.
Cross and Fosh “may not be household names”, says Mark Dampier at Hargreaves Lansdown, but they have been quietly building a superb stockpicking record. “In our view this is an excellent fund for bold investors seeking long-term exposure to good-quality UK companies.”
Contact: 020-7412 1700.
Liontrust Special Situations Fund top ten holdings
| Name of holding | % of assets |
|---|---|
| Royal Dutch Shell | 4.17 |
| BG Group | 4.01 |
| Compass Group | 3.91 |
| BP | 3.89 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | 3.85 |
| Astrazeneca | 3.83 |
| Unilever plc | 3.36 |
| Weir Group | 3.27 |
| Spirax Sarco Engineering | 3.10 |
| Tullett Prebon plc | 2.87 |