There are managers who have been able to defend their portfolio ever since the eurozone crisis began, as well as outperform when markets rally.
Our data shows that IMA Europe ex UK has beaten IMA UK All Companies in seven out of the last 10 calendar years.
All in all, there are 15 funds in the IMA Europe ex UK sector that are run by an FE Alpha Manager, which is a similar number to both the IMA UK Equity Income and IMA UK All Companies sectors.
Richard Troue, investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says one of the reasons there are so many high-profile managers in the sector is because Europe is well-suited to stockpickers due to the huge range of investable companies on its various indices.
"Just generally across the entire continent, there is such a huge variety of companies for stockpickers to choose from," he said.
"I think when investors think about Europe, they just focus on the eurozone. However, there are a number of dynamic countries outside of that – like northern Europe – and a huge universe of companies that can perform well in all conditions."
"If a stockpicker is willing to put the work in, they will be well rewarded in Europe," he added.
With this in mind, FE Trustnet highlights the three of the best long-serving European managers that are available to retail investors.
Alexander Darwall
Troue says that FE Alpha Manager Alexander Darwall (pictured) is a standout name in the sector due to his stockpicking ability.
"Funnily enough, Darwall doesn’t see his funds as European funds. He is looking for great global companies and whether or not they are listed in Europe is largely irrelevant," he said. "He looks for companies that can generate their revenue stream from all over the world with good management teams."
Darwall has been running both open- and closed-ended European equity portfolios for 11 years, wading through the worst of the 2008 crisis.
He currently runs four portfolios – Jupiter European, Jupiter European Growth, Scot Wid HIFML European Focus and the Jupiter European Opportunities investment trust – all of which have the maximum five crown-rating.
According to FE Analytics, during his career running funds he has returned 231.23 per cent, beating his peer group composite by nearly 150 percentage points in the process.
Performance of manager vs peers since Nov 2000
Source: FE Analytics
He has managed his £2bn Jupiter European fund since January 2001. With him at the helm, the fund is the second-best performing portfolio in the IMA Europe ex UK sector over 10 years, the third best over five years and the fourth best over three.
His Jupiter European Growth and his Scot Wid HIFML European Focus funds were both launched in the last five years. They too are top-quartile performers in the sector over one and three years.
Over 10 years, his investment trust has returned 537.74 per cent, making it the best performer in the IT Europe sector and meaning it has beaten its benchmark – the FTSE World Europe ex UK – by 373.94 percentage points.
Jupiter European Opportunities also tops the performance tables over three and five years.
The closed-ended fund is geared at 13 per cent and is trading on a 0.5 per cent premium to its NAV.
It has an ongoing charge of 1.19 per cent. Darwall’s open-ended funds have ongoing charges figures (OCFs) ranging from 1.72 to 1.82 per cent.
Richard Pease
Troue says that FE Alpha Manager Richard Pease has a very similar strategy to Darwall's.
"Pease looks for quality companies that have global earnings, especially ones with recurring revenues. He also likes businesses where a family or the management team has a large stake in the business," he said.
Pease has a very similar long-term track record to Darwall. He began managing funds in 1999, returning 257.44 per cent while his peer group composite has made 60.66 per cent.
Performance of manager vs peers since April 1999
Source: FE Analytics
He has previously managed European funds at Jupiter and New Star, but currently runs Henderson European Growth, Henderson European Special Situations and the offshore Henderson Horizon European Growth – all of which have five FE Crowns.
He runs the £937m Henderson European Growth fund with fellow FE Alpha Manager Simon Rowe. It is a top-quartile performer in the IMA Europe ex UK sector over three, five and 10 years.
His Henderson European Special Situations fund was launched in October 2009 and it too is a top-quartile performer over one and three years.
Since the launch of the Luxembourg-domiciled Henderson Horizon European Growth fund in August 2002, it has returned 223.74 per cent compared with 159.78 per cent from the FTSE World Europe ex UK index.
Pease’s offshore fund has an OCF of 2.10 per cent, while his other two portfolios both have an OCF of 1.76 per cent.
Alister Hibbert
For investors who want a more balanced approach rather than an out-and-out stockpicker, Troue says FE Alpha Manager Alister Hibbert (pictured) is a good choice.
"As well as looking at micro factors, Hibbert does take the wider economic drivers into consideration," he said.
"He is looking for economic diversification within his funds and looks at which micro and macro factors will affect a stock’s outlook, which then helps him with his valuation model. He may not be as pure a stockpicker as most, but is more balanced."
Like Darwall and Pease, Hibbert has a very impressive long-term track record.
He has managed funds since December 2001, for groups such as Invesco Perpetual and Scottish Widows, before he took on the BlackRock European Dynamic and BlackRock Global Funds Continental European Flexible funds in March 2008.
He has returned 179.97 per cent over the course of his career, compared with 74.04 per cent from his peer group composite.
Performance of manager vs peers since March 2001
Source: FE Analytics
Since Hibbert began running the five crown-rated, £1.6bn BlackRock European Dynamic fund, it has been the second best-performing portfolio in the IMA Europe ex UK sector, with returns of 85.09 per cent.
Bar 2011, the fund has also been a top-quartile performer in every year since he took over the fund from Alice Gaskell.
Hibbert’s offshore BlackRock Global Funds Continental European Flexible fund – which is also five crown-rated – has nearly quadrupled the returns of the FTSE World Europe ex UK index since he has been in charge.
BlackRock European Dynamic has an OCF of 1.67 per cent while his offshore fund has an OCF of 1.81 per cent.