Stuart Rhodes
The highly regarded manager of the M&G Global Dividend fund has just three-and-a-half years' experience as lead manager but has already amassed £1.7bn in assets under management (AUM).
Data from FE Analytics shows that the fund has returned 50.9 per cent since launch compared with 20.07 per cent from the average Global fund. Only four funds in the sector – two with a small-cap focus – have outperformed the M&G vehicle in the last three years.
Performance of fund vs sector since launch
Source: FE Analytics
"Rhodes has a great, consistent track record and the fund’s strong discipline in what they are trying to achieve really helps the manager focus in the right areas," said Adrian Lowcock, senior investment adviser at Bestinvest.
"The interesting thing about the fund is that it does not have a yield target and prefers to focus on companies that have the potential to grow their dividend consistently."
Data from FE Trustnet shows that Stuart Rhodes' annualised total return over 3.6 years is 11.4 per cent.
The M&G Global Dividend fund has an annual historic yield of 3.3 per cent.
Mark Martin
With £3.6m AUM, Mark Martin’s Neptune UK Mid Cap fund may be small but it has outperformed every other UK All Companies fund over the last 12 months. The achievement is all the more impressive considering Martin has just three-and-a-half years' experience as the lead manager on an investment fund. The fund’s record over three years is also strong. With returns of 106 per cent – more than double the sector average – the fund is comfortably in the top decile during this period.
Performance of fund vs sector over three years
Source: FE Analytics
Martin invests predominantly in companies from the FTSE 250 index as well as the 50 largest UK companies. He aims to identify stocks where sentiment is at odds with valuation.
"The fund’s exposure to economically sensitive businesses moved over the quarter towards UK domestic companies where valuations and sentiment are at extremes," the manager said. "For example, a position was taken in Barratt Developments, where excessive investor pessimism has taken root, providing a valuation opportunity."
The fund has been awarded five crowns under the FE Fund Crown Rating system.
Ariel Bezalel
Beginning his investment career at Jupiter in 1997, Bezalel is the most experienced of the managers featured here. He has headed-up the Jupiter Strategic Bond fund since June 2008 and also co-manages Jupiter High Income and runs the fixed interest portion of Jupiter Monthly Income. Data from FE Analytics shows that the £700m Strategic Bond fund has returned 71.99 per cent over the last three years compared with 41.88 per cent from the sector average. Only three other funds in IMA Sterling Strategic Bond have performed better, but the Jupiter vehicle has been less volatile than all of these.
Performance of fund vs sector over three years
Source: FE Analytics
Kerry Nelson, managing director of Nexus IFA, says that Bezalel’s record has been strong but the fund is often overlooked by investors who are more familiar with some of its larger counterparts in the sector.
"Bezalel has done really well since he took the fund on a few years ago but he doesn’t always appear on advisers’ radars," she said. "It’s a bit unfair because the track record is great and there are always benefits of having a more nimble fund in your portfolio."