Fund of the week: IFA with a talent for stockpicking

published 1 August 2006

"The best fund managers are those who prove themselves in both good and volatile markets," says The Daily Telegraph. So who better to hold on to your money than one of the six UK fund managers who generated a positive return in the three years after the markets began to plummet in 2000, and are still active. One is Citywire AA-rated George Luckraft of AXA Framlington Monthly Income Fund, "one of the most talented stock-picking fund managers in the UK", according to Interactive Investor.

Luckraft uses the barbell' investment strategy to equity income, an approach that tries to achieve above-average yield with long-term capital appreciation. With this method, he has holdings in three areas: "high-yielding stocks, lower-yielding stocks offering the prospect of income growth and straightforward capital growth plays", says Citywire. One play that has recently performed impressively is water company Kelda, in which Luckraft has invested since November 2002. The share's lowest level that year was 343p, but it has since risen to 810p, with an attractive dividend yield of 4.02%.

And that ability to deliver above-average returns has persuaded Principle Investment Management to slap a "buy" recommendation on his fund, and include him in its "White List" of recommended UK equity income funds. That's because they regard him as a "rare talent", who has successfully turned around what was once an unimpressive fund.