A change of fund manager can sometimes result in a dramatic reversal in fortune. Here FE Trustnet looks at three funds that went from a period of underperformance to top-quartile returns following a change in their management team.


Standard Life UK Equity Income Unconstrained

This open-ended fund lost 50.8 per cent between 1 March 2007 and 1 January 2009 under Dominic Byrne. Then Thomas Moore (pictured) was appointed manager.

Since he took over it has made 84.80 per cent, the fourth-highest returns of any fund in the sector. By contrast, the average UK Equity Income portfolio has delivered 51.36 per cent.

Since 30 June 2012 the portfolio has risen in size by 386.67 per cent due to a combination of inflows and price appreciation, according to data from FE Analytics, and is now worth £94.9m.

Moore has developed a portfolio concentrated on the faster-growing mid cap space and currently holds 59.2 per cent in the FTSE 250.

The manager has 32.5 per cent of his portfolio in financial stocks, preferring insurers such as Legal & General Group and Royal & Sun Alliance as well as asset managers such as F&C.

Performance of fund vs sector since 1 January 2009



Source: FE Analytics

The fund is currently yielding 4.15 per cent, a fraction under the sector average. It has a minimum investment of £1,000 and a total expense ratio (TER) of 1.91 per cent.

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Fidelity European Values IT

In the three years prior to Samuel Morse taking over as manager in January 2011, the Fidelity European Values trust lost investors 12.53 per cent while its FTSE World Europe ex UK benchmark lost 3.47 per cent.

According to data from FE Analytics, this made it the second-worst European-focused trust over the period.

However, since Morse took over on 1 January it has gained 8.4 per cent – the second-highest returns for portfolios focused on the continent – while its benchmark has fallen a further 7.06 per cent.

Years of underperformance may explain the discount to NAV which has opened up, although it has been narrowing slightly in recent months: while the share price has risen 13.8 per cent in the year-to-date, NAV is up just 11.5 per cent.

Performance of trust price vs NAV 



Source: FE Analytics

Despite its recent outperformance against its peers and benchmark, the trust is still available at a discount of 12.72 per cent.

Morse has only a 3.6 per cent exposure to the UK; his biggest positions are in France, Switzerland and Germany.

The trust's largest holding is Nestle, at 7 per cent.

It has a TER of 0.94 per cent and does not charge a performance fee.


Fidelity Moneybuilder Dividend

In the three years prior to 1 July 2008 this fund was 64th out of 68 in the sector, having lost 0.06 per cent while the sector gained 9.29 per cent.

This led to Michael Clark, now an FE Alpha Manager, replacing John Stavis.

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Under Clark, Fidelity Moneybuilder Dividend is a top-quartile performer in IMA UK Equity Income, with one of the lowest volatility scores in the sector.

Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark since 1 July 2008



Source: FE Analytics

Since Clark took over the fund, which now has five FE crowns, it has made 39.99 per cent while its FTSE All Share benchmark is up 25.94 per cent.

The manager has achieved this with an annualised yield of 4.47 per cent, which puts it in the second quartile in the sector. 

Clark has a bias towards defensive stocks that aim to grow their dividend over the medium- to long-term.

His biggest sector overweight is in healthcare and utilities, which have a combined weighting of 23.3 per cent. GlaxoSmithKline, Pennon Group, AstraZeneca and SSE are all top-10 holdings.

The fund has a yield of 4.47 per cent, a minimum investment of £1,000 and a TER of 1.22 per cent.