Go shopping for cheap consumer stocks

When the going gets tough in the markets, the tough go shopping. The managers of the Liontrust Special Situations fund Anthony Cross and Julian Fosh have been using the recent dip to increase exposure to cheap consumer stocks, writes Daniel Lanyon on FE Trustnet.com.

The fund's remit is to deliver long-term capital growth by investing in UK equities, especially smaller companies. Since its launch in 2005, the fund has been the sixth best-performing portfolio outof the 192 funds in the Investment Association's UK All Companies sector, according to Trustnet. It has delivered a 219% return almost triple that of the FTSE All-Share.

Recent performancehas been more mixed, with the fundbeating its benchmark over one and five years, but not over three, delivering 3.9% over one year, 32.8% over three years and 105% over five years. Recent returns were hit by the oil and gas sector slump.

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Cross and Fosh use the Liontrust "economic advantage" stock-picking process. Favouring industrials and consumer service stocks, they lookfor firms that can deliver higher-than-average profitability for longer than expected due to strong intellectual property or distribution power. Recently the pair increased holdings in Domino's Pizza, property website Rightmoveand broker Tullett Prebon. Domino's is benefiting from the increased number

of customers ordering pizzas via smartphone apps, while Rightmove is consolidating its market-leading position despite new competitors launching, says Cross. The ongoing charge is relatively low at 0.87%.

Contact: 020-7412 1700.