According to FE Analytics, the European specialist manager has returned 272.42 per cent over the last decade, beating his peer group composite by 111.7 percentage points during that time.
Performance of manager vs peers over 10yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Darwall (pictured) has run the five crown-rated Jupiter European fund since 2001, which is consistently a top-five performer in its IMA Europe ex UK sector in the short-, medium- and long-term.
It is second only to FF&P European All Cap Equity over five years, returning 49.69 per cent in the process. AWD Chase de Vere’s Patrick Connolly likes the fund due to the freedom given to the manager to make his own decisions.
"We like it, we use it and we put our new clients' money into it," he said.
"With Jupiter in general, the managers have a lot more discretion and flexibility than most other groups."
"This can be a positive and a negative with most managers, but what we have seen with Darwall is that he has consistently been able to make the right decisions and this has led to a very good track record."
While Darwall is best known for his Jupiter European fund, he also runs two other open-ended portfolios, as well as an investment trust.
He has headed the Luxembourg-domiciled Jupiter European Growth fund since 2008.
The five crown-rated fund boasts top-quartile performance over one and three years. Since launch, the $404.8m portfolio has returned 56.23 per cent, beating its FTSE World Europe benchmark by around 40 percentage points.
Performance of fund vs sector and index since July 2008
Source: FE Analytics
However, the fund has tended to be more volatile than the sector average and the index.
Jupiter European Growth is fairly similar to Darwall’s Jupiter European fund, with holdings such as Wirecard and Reed Elsevier in both of the funds' top-10 holdings.
It can invest in the UK, which currently has a 25 per cent weighting.
The fund is also more concentrated than the Jupiter European fund, which may go some way to explaining why it has been more volatile.
FE Research’s Charles Younes insists that investors are getting the same close attention to detail with whichever fund Darwall manages.
"He is a very long-term investor in companies and so in the short-term he doesn’t tend to be spectacular; this is why he tends to avoid cyclicals," he said.
"He has a very low turnover – for instance in his Jupiter European fund he has held 11 companies, which make up 50 per cent of the portfolio, for six years."
"He doesn’t just concentrate on financial valuations for the long- and short-term but he also focuses on areas we call 'soft factors'; for example, a company’s corporate and enterprise culture."
"He meets the company’s management team a lot to make sure that what was said in the meeting is acted out."
His Jupiter European Growth fund has a total expense ratio (TER) of 1.81 per cent and requires a minimum investment of £1,000.
The manager also heads the five crown-rated Scottish Widows HIFML European Focus portfolio, which only has £5.6m assets under management (AUM).
Darwall has managed the fund since its launch in January 2009. It has registered top-quartile performance over one and three years, as well as since launch.
Since the inception of the fund it has returned 92.10 per cent. This is double the return of both the FTSE Europe ex UK index and the IMA Europe ex UK sector.
Of all Darwall’s funds, it is most similar to the Jupiter European portfolio.
However, it is not quite as concentrated as its larger counterpart and has a greater degree of flexibility to invest in small and mid caps.
With a TER of 1.7 per cent, it is also slightly cheaper than Jupiter European, which charges 1.79 per cent.
It has a minimum investment of £5,000.
Last up is the Jupiter European Opportunities investment trust, which Darwall has run since 2000.
The trust is the standout performer in IT Europe and also has a far superior record to all of the manager’s open-ended funds.
Over 10 years, it has returned 437.7 per cent, beating Jupiter European by more than 200 percentage points.
It is equally dominant over one, three and five years.
Performance of funds and trust over 3-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Winterflood’s Simon Elliott is a fan of Jupiter European despite the fact it is trading on a premium.
"The trust has an excellent record and is currently trading on premium of 1 per cent. This compares to the sector which is trading on a 9 per cent discount, as the trust's strong performance is very highly rated," he said.
"I think the performance justifies the fund’s premium. We usually worry if a trust is trading close to NAV and if the trust was to have a quieter period it would be seen as underperforming."
"However, it depends on an investor’s horizon so if they were to hold it for the long-term its premium shouldn’t be an issue."
Elliott says that the trust is geared at approximately 19 per cent, so more cautious investors should be wary.
"This level of gearing will be more appropriate for certain investors as it means there is a higher potential upside but with that comes more risk."
"The trust differs from the Jupiter European fund as the open-ended portfolio has a 10 per cent capped weighting in the UK. However, Darwall's trust doesn’t have that same restriction and has around 35 per cent in the UK at the moment."
The £268m Jupiter European Opps Trust has a TER of 1.12 per cent, making it by far the cheapest of all of Darwall’s portfolios.