"You can look at all the figures you like," says Derek Stuart in Investment Adviser. "But even a company with fantastic margins and great cash flow can be destroyed very quickly by a poor management team." That's why a board's pedigree is of the utmost importance, he says.
It's a philosophy that has served him and the £1.1bn Artemis UK Special Situations Fund he has run since 2000 well. The fund has outperformed the UK All Companies index by 120% over eight years. Back then, when everyone was buying tech stocks, Stuart shunned them in favour of unloved housebuilders. "He has displayed a knack of being ahead of the market through investing in out-of-favour areas," independent financial adviser Gavin Haynes of Whitechurch Securities tells Thisismoney.co.uk.
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
Artemis UK Special Situations Fund top ten holdings
| Name of holding | % of assets |
| Royal Dutch Shell B'Ord | 4.10% |
| GlaxoSmithKline | 3.90% |
| BP | 3.90% |
| Vodafone Group | 3.20% |
| BT Group | 3.10% |
| Cadbury Schweppes | 3.0% |
| BG Group | 3.0% |
| Unilever | 2.90% |
| British Energy Group | 2.80% |
| Cable & Wireless | 2.70% |
-
Can I inherit my partner's ISA? – little known tax break can boost your allowance by thousandsInheriting a partner’s ISA is fairly simple and comes with special advantages if you’re married or in a civil partnership – knowing what to do with it, however, isn’t always as straightforward
-
Can AI results boost Microsoft and Meta’s shares?Alphabet and Tesla’s stock saw contrasting movements after last week’s earnings. This week, Microsoft and Meta’s reports are followed by Amazon and Apple’s.
