While Nutt
(pictured)
is set to leave the two unit trusts next year, the income specialist will continue to run the closed-ended Jupiter Dividend and Growth investment trust. Nutt’s career in fund management spans back to the mid-1990s.
FE Analytics data shows he outperformed his peer group composite until 2008, when relative returns started to slip.
In 1996 the manager began running the Jupiter High Income fund, which has returned 118.25 per cent over the past decade compared with 90.72 per cent from its IMA UK Equity and Bond Income sector.
Performance of fund vs sector over 10-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The recent underperformance of Nutt’s funds has been widely publicised.
Jupiter High Income is in the sector's third quartile over one, three and five years due to its poor showing in the financial crash – it lost 24.65 per cent in 2008.
In a recent FE Trustnet article, Nutt said that he was unfazed by his recent underperformance and that investors in his funds should focus on the long-term.
"The time horizon is something an investor would have to share with me," he added.
"The first thing an investor should do is work out how long they want to invest for, and then what manager is appropriate."
Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial, says that despite Nutt’s recent underperformance, the manager has been one of the best over the long-term.
"Anthony has, over his 16-year career, been able to able to substantially outperform for the vast majority of the time."
"Over three years, it has not been so great and he has slipped in and out of the third and fourth quartiles," he commented.
"Again, his five-year track record is not as strong. But let’s not get away from the fact that over his tenure he has doubled the index and has beaten his peer group."
"I think Anthony shows the value of holding a manager for the long-term. It is just disappointing that his last few years have not been as successful as the rest of his career."
Jupiter’s Ben Whitmore will take over Jupiter Income as of 1 January 2013 and FE Alpha Manager Philip Matthews will start running Jupiter High Income in the summer of next year.
Both Whitmore and Matthews have worked closely with Nutt in the past, and McDermott says that while there may be a slight change in strategy, investors can expect business as usual because the new managers both follow the same mantra as their predecessor.
"Ben is a value and contrarian-style manager and I think the fund will be run in a similar style as it was under Anthony," he continued.
"Ben has been very consistent in his good performance with an income mandate, but as the whole team has worked closely together for a number of years now I don’t think much will change."
"As for Philip, he again is a very good manager who has a low turnover rate. I think we can expect similar things for the fund, however."
FE Trustnet will carry an interview with Anthony Nutt and his successors this afternoon.