An ‘unlucky 13’ fund managers including former star Neil Woodford have left the FE fundinfo Alpha Manager ‘Hall of Fame’ following the latest rebalance of the ratings. 
The FE fundinfo Alpha Manager rankings – which aim to highlight the best managers in the retail investment industry – were rebalanced earlier this year, resulting in the 13 departures and 10 new names being added to the ‘Hall of Fame’.
Alpha Manager ratings are awarded on track records stretching back to 2000 – with an extra weighting for those with the longest track records – and are based on three components: risk-adjusted alpha, consistency of outperformance versus their benchmark, and outperformance in both up and down markets.
“It is particularly impressive to see such a high diversity of investment styles among the managers who have joined the list this year,” said Charles Younes (pictured), research manager at FE fundinfo.
“This shows that over a long time period, investment biases fade, and the technical proficiency of the fund managers becomes more apparent.”
Among the new managers making the Hall of Fame – which recognises those who have been Alpha Manager-rated consistently for seven years – are GAM’s Anthony Smouha, Ballie Gifford’s Douglas Brodie and GLG’s Henry Dixon.
Source: FE fundinfo
Other managers making the Hall of Fame were Schroders’ John Warren, Richard Hallett of Marlborough Fund Managers, Janus Henderson’s Ben Wallace and Luke Newman, Leon Grenyer of Morgan Stanley, Artemis’ Derek Stuart and Daniel Hanbury of River & Mercantile Asset Management.
“It was interesting to note Douglas Brodie from Baillie Gifford, for instance, adopts a very different investment style from Henry Dixon at GLG, yet both have joined the list,” said Younes.
“Additionally – and despite being out of favour – it was pleasing to see absolute return managers such as Ben Wallace and Luke Newman, both from Janus Henderson, also be recognised.”
Of the 50 fund managers making the list this year, 12 have been ever-present since it began in 2015, including Merian’s Daniel Nickols, Martin Lau of First State Investments and Mark Slate of Slater Investments.
Other than Woodford, other managers leaving the Hall of Fame included those leaving the industry entirely.
Source: FE fundinfo
“Apart from the obvious high-profile collapse of the Woodford funds, most of the other leavers are career, rather than performance-related,” said Younes.
“Both Steve Russell (Ruffer LLP) and Jenny Jones (Schroder) retired, while Alexander Darwall left Jupiter to start his own business. We fully expect him to regain his Alpha status, once he starts actively managing money again.”
The annual FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Awards will be taking place in the City of London on 7 May, celebrating the performance of the UK’s best fund managers.
For more information, please visit: www.alphamanagerawards.com