It has outperformed both its sector and FTSE All Share benchmark over one, five and 10 years. While the size of the portfolio means it has a high degree of exposure to blue chips such as HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline and Centrica, Sanjeev Shah (pictured) also has a number of higher-conviction plays outside of his top-10.
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment
Shah is currently backing Gibraltar-based online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.
While the overarching company is less well known, it is the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling firm, with websites such as PartyPoker.com.
It has a market cap of £1.2bn and is trading on a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.1, according to The Share Centre. It is currently yielding 2.4 per cent.
The stock, which makes up 0.75 per cent of Shah’s portfolio, has had a rough ride of late, more than halving in value over three years.
However, it has come roaring back over the last six months, picking up 44.25 per cent, which is more than double the gains of the FTSE 250 index.
Performance of stock vs index over 6 months
Source: FE Analytics
PartyGaming was hit by legislation in 2006 that made it impossible to market its services to US consumers.
At the time it lost 60 per cent of its value in 24 hours and was booted out of the FTSE 100.
However, it has since reached a penalty deal with the US government and is beginning to recover.
PartyGaming merged with Bwin in 2011, creating Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.
No funds in the IMA universe hold it in their top-10.
Faroe Petroleum
This independent oil and gas company makes up a small position in the Special Sits fund.
It focuses primarily on exploration, appraisal and production in the Atlantic, the North Sea and Norway. It also has operations offshore of Iceland.
It is trading on a P/E ratio of 17.2, but is set to become cheaper, according to The Share Centre, with a projected P/E figure of 10.1 by the end of the year.
It has seen mixed performance recently, losing money over one and five years, but outperforming both the FTSE AIM and FTSE 350 Oil & Gas Producers over three.
Performance of stock vs indices over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Only Schroder ISF Global Small Cap Energy holds Faroe Petroleum in its top-10: it makes up 4.3 per cent of the fund, according to FE Analytics data.
Ocado
Shah is also backing Ocado, a Hertfordshire-based online food retailer. The online grocery retailer sells Waitrose supermarket chain brands.
The firm saw its shares jump nearly 30 per cent this week as it confirmed it was in talks with Morrisons supermarket chain to start an online business for the food retailer.
Ocado has outperformed the FTSE 250 over the last year, returning 44.07 per cent, while the index gained 23.45 per cent.
Only one fund in the IMA universe holds the stock in its top-10 - the Fidelity UK Growth portfolio.
Novae Group
Novae Group is a London-based insurance underwriting company run by John Hastings-Bass and Matthew Fosh.
It is trading on a P/E ratio of 10.3 with an attractive yield of 4.5 per cent.
It has a market cap of £297.85m.
The small-cap stock has performed strongly over the past one, three and five years, returning 93.59 per cent over the last five year period.
It has continued to maintain positive returns over the last several months, picking up 24.93 per cent over the last three months alone.
No funds hold it in their top-10.
Promethean
Making up a tiny percentage of the Special Sits fund, Promethean is a global education company that utilises technology and training to help teachers meet their curriculums.
The Blackburn-based firm also has regional offices in Atlanta, Paris, Singapore and Bahrain.
Although Promethean had a yield of 3.7 per cent and 4.5 per cent in 2010 and 2011 respectively, it has not paid out a dividend since, according to The Share Centre.
The stock is certainly not for the faint of heart, losing money over one, three, five and 10 years.
No funds hold the stock in their top-10.