Fund of the week: Tack into this safe harbour
This fund concentrates on British firms ranging from blue chips to Aim-listed stocks, focusing on cash-rich companies with a global presence.
Anthony Cross is bluntly bearish in his outlook for the British market. "I'm not that optimistic," he says in The Daily Telegraph. He sees tougher times ahead "as household budgets are squeezed. Retail, housebuilding and commercial property all look vulnerable," he says in The Mail on Sunday.
Cross manages the Liontrust Special Situations Fund, which concentrates on British firms ranging from blue chips to Aim-listed stocks. As a result of his caution he is focusing on cash-rich companies with a global presence the fund is heavily invested in both Royal Dutch Shell and GlaxoSmithKline. "Some British firms have recovered well because they have been exporting into overseas markets. But any recovery in more British-focused, consumer-oriented sectors has been surreal." His, and co-manager Julian Fosh's, relatively safe tack has paid off for investors. The fund has returned 59.4% over the past three years, compared to just 14.3% for the FTSE All-Share.
But Cross isn't entirely optimistic about the future for those British companies experiencing growth abroad. "The biggest problem facing fund managers and all those who are trying to work in the financial markets is how much of the growth that you are seeing elsewhere on the globe, particularly from the pick-up in the United States, how genuine that is and how much of it is being pushed by quantitative easing and the printing of money."
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Cross's pessimism may explain why, unusually, the fund's largest holding is cash (9.73% of net assets at the end of December 2010).
Contact: 020-7412 1700.
Liontrust Special Situations Fund top ten holdings
XXX Fund top ten holdings
Royal Dutch Shell | 4.17 |
Compass Group | 4.11 |
BG Group | 4.08 |
RWS Holdings | 3.64 |
BP | 3.61 |
GlaxoSmithKline | 3.48 |
AstraZeneca | 3.33 |
Next Fifteen Communications | 3.20 |
System C Healthcare | 3.09 |
Unilever | 2.99 |
Sign up for MoneyWeek's newsletters
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
-
New Chase bonus deal takes savings rate to 4.75% – is it worth it?
Chase’s latest savings deal propels it into first place in the best-buy tables, but there are some pitfalls to look out for
By Katie Williams Published
-
Review: Trasierra – a yoga retreat in the Spanish hills
Flora Connell joins a yoga retreat at Trasierra, in the Sierra Morena mountains north of Seville
By Flora Connell Published