Harry Nimmo, manager of the Standard Life UK Smaller Companies funds, is in second-place over the shorter time-frame and seventh over 10 years.
Alex Wright of Fidelity UK Smaller Companies has the highest ranking over three years, returning 102.6 per cent, with Nimmo delivering 92.1 per cent and Nick Train in third place with returns of 90.9 per cent from his CF Lindsell Train UK Equity fund.
Leading FE Alpha Managers over 3-yrs
| Manager | 3-year returns (%) |
| Alex Wright | 102.6 |
| Harry Nimmo | 92.1 |
| Nick Train | 90.9 |
| Simon Knott | 90.4 |
| Philip Rodrigs | 88.8 |
| Mark Martin | 88.2 |
| John McClure | 86.5 |
| Anthony Cross | 82.5 |
| Julian Fosh | 82.5 |
| Mark Slater | 80.1 |
Source: FE Analytics
Wright’s strong performance goes some way in explaining his recent appointment as manager of the Fidelity Special Values trust at the expense of Sanjeev Shah. The fund house said that his knowledge in the small cap space was important to the decision.
Six of the remaining managers in the top-10 run smaller companies funds while the seventh, Mark Martin, runs the Neptune UK Mid Cap portfolio.
However, over the longer time frame it is emerging market managers who have returned the most cash to investors, with First State’s Martin Lau – who has returned 590.4 per cent – at the top of the list and his colleague Angus Tulloch in joint-second along with James Donald of Lazard Emerging Markets, having both returned 321.7 per cent.
First State and Aberdeen have the best reputation in emerging markets, but Aberdeen’s team-oriented approach means it has no representatives on the lists.
Leading FE Alpha Managers over 10-years
| Manager | 10-year returns (%) |
| Martin Lau | 590.3 |
| James Donald | 321.7 |
| Angus Tulloch | 321.7 |
| Harry Nimmo | 306.6 |
| Hugh Young | 293.2 |
| Richard Plackett | 290.8 |
| Evy Hambro | 287.8 |
| Giles Hargreave | 238.3 |
| Anthony Cross | 209.4 |
| John Lo | 187.2 |
Source: FE Analytics
The three managers on the list who aren’t focused on emerging markets are Richard Plackett of Blackrock UK Special Situations, Giles Hargreave, who runs four Marlborough funds, and Anthony Cross, who heads up three Liontrust portfolios.
Once again, each of those managers has a bias towards companies with a smaller market capitalisation.
Cross runs Liontrust UK Smaller Companies, Liontrust Special Situations – which can invest in all areas by market capitalisation – and Liontrust UK Growth.
He is the second manager to feature in the top-10 over both time periods and is joined by his co-manager Julian Fosh, who joined Liontrust in 2008 from Saracen, in the three-year table.
There is a cluster of managers who run smaller companies funds just outside the top-10 over the last decade, including John McClure of Unicorn and Tim Wood of the McInroy and Wood Smaller Companies fund.
The strong performance of smaller companies managers over the longer time-frame supports the view that small caps outperform their larger counterparts in the long-term, despite the volatility associated with the sector.