Fund of the week: ten heads are better than one

published 3 July 2007

Boasting ten different fund managers, there were sceptics galore at the launch of the Skandia Global Best Ideas Fund in June last year. But now, 12 months later, the critics have been confounded. The multi-manager fund has returned 30%, against about 20% for the average fund manager. "In the same way as you want the best surgeon if you're having an operation, you want the best managers looking after your money," says Mark Dampier of Hargreaves Lansdown in the Daily Mail.

And Skandia have some of the best, including Hugh Young of Aberdeen and Roger Whiteoak of AXA Framlington. The idea is that each fund manager comes from a different fund management group, and covers a different sector from the others. So, for example, Nathan Gibbs of Schroders covers Japanese markets and, like the other managers, will pick and monitor a portfolio of ten stocks, representing his highest-conviction stock picks. The fund is 50% invested in the UK, with the rest split between overseas markets, including Europe, the US, and emerging markets. The fund is overseen by James Millard (pictured) and his team at Skandia head office in Southampton. For private investors who have already put £392m into the fund, the strategy has paid off.

"Skandia is drawing on the skills of a very talented team and performance has been correspondingly star-studded," says Mick Gilligan, of stockbroker Killik & Co in The Times. "The ten managers that Skandia has selected blend together well and make a highly effective and competitive team." Alan Steel of independent financial adviser Alan Steel Asset Management agrees. "If you can't decide on an [investment] area, this is a good way of getting global exposure."