According to FE Analytics, it is a top-quartile performer over that time with returns of 64.65 per cent, beating the FTSE All Share by nearly 20 percentage points.
Performance of fund vs sector and index since Dec 2009
Source: FE Analytics
The fund is a top-quartile performer over one and three years. Despite its success, the fund is currently just £62.5m in size.
Rightly or wrongly, when investors think of the IMA UK Equity Income sector, the likes of Invesco Perpetual High Income and Artemis Income automatically spring to mind. Both funds are run by highly experienced and established management teams and because of that, have attracted billions of pounds of investor capital.
Speaking to FE Trustnet, Message (pictured) said that although he has been pleased with the fund’s performance, he fully understands why it has not attracted as much attention as some of his more established peers.
"The fund has grown slightly as we have seen net inflows of around £10m," he said.
"The conditions have been fairly choppy since I began running the fund, but the process has been working. We have been marketing the fund more and I have been on a couple of roadshows."
"But let’s not forget, I have only been running this for three and a half years."
"I’m perfectly happy with the way things are going and though it hasn’t grown much, it’s more important for me to deliver performance. It is exciting as it is an opportunity to grow a franchise and I am fairly young, so it is a great place to be."
"We also run the fund as if it is much larger than it is, so this strategy can continue with a much higher AUM," he added.
Old Mutual UK Equity Income is yielding 4.2 per cent; however Message says that delivering all-round performance is more important than simply chasing a high level of income.
"The fund is set up for a total return objective," Message said.
"By that I mean we are trying to grow capital and deliver a meaningful level of income – so there is a dual focus. I split it into two baskets, core growth and core income. Core income is principally driven by generating an attractive level of income from dividend-paying shares, with an emphasis on dividend growth."
"Within core growth, we look for the capital appreciation of shares to deliver that total return."
"However, I don’t want this to be described as a barbell approach and people to think that all my income comes from one side and all the growth from the other. No, it is much more blended than that as the core income basket accounts for two-thirds of the fund's dividends," he added.
Message invests across the UK mid and large cap markets, with around 60 per cent of the fund in the FTSE 100 and the rest in the FTSE 250.
He takes a value approach to investing with an emphasis on finding a company that can grow its dividend. Because of that, he says he avoids some of the large tobacco names and consumer goods companies.
For instance, he does not hold the likes of British American Tobacco, Unilever, Diageo or AstraZeneca. Instead, he is happier to invest in companies that are further down the scale in terms of market cap.
"Last year, around £80bn was paid out in dividends but a huge amount of that came from just 20 companies. It is a well-known fact, but the UK market is very concentrated," he said.
"We try to source more dividends from outside the largest names. We typically look at a company’s valuation and assess whether the market is pricing it too low. One way to see that is if the stock market is underestimating its profit potential."
"Typically, that can arise from internal drivers or from changes within the environment they operate in. Take easyJet, for example: it was undervalued by the market as some of the larger airlines had stopped their short-distance travel."
"However, this is an all-companies fund and if at some stage I feel there are better opportunities in the larger names, then I will invest there," he added.
Message has a bullish view on UK equities because he feels the economic environment is very supportive for domestically orientated companies. He currently has a high weighting to Howden Joinery, Greene King and ITV and is avoiding companies that have a large exposure to emerging markets.
Tim Cockerill (pictured), head of collectives research at Rowan Dartington, rates Message’s abilities but says investors are still better off waiting until he has had more time to prove himself.
"What I thought was very good was how he had a very clear macro view," Cockerill said. "He has a domestic concentration and tends to avoid some of the largest dividend payers. He is coming at it from a different angle to some of his peers. His performance has been good, but I think investors should take a step back."
"He has been operating in a rising market and though he has done well, the performance isn’t outstanding compared to other funds in the sector. His volatility is certainly higher than the peer group I would compare him to."
"From my point of view, it is an interesting fund and one to keep an eye on. However, I would give him more time and wait and see how he performs in a more problematic environment, so to speak," Cockerill added.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s Mark Dampier is also a fan of Message and is tipping him as a potential star in the making. Like Cockerill, however, he thinks it is a fund worth watching for now rather than investing in.
"[Head of equities at Old Mutual] Ashton Bradbury rates Stephen very highly indeed, but I think you’ve always got to be a bit careful when you don’t have a long track record," he said.
"I think a full business cycle, or seven years, is a good number."
Old Mutual UK Equity Income has an ongoing charges figure (OCF) of 1.73 per cent and requires a minimum investment of £1,000.