Standard Life UK Equity Unconstrained - change of manager
Kate Marshall | Wed 24 June 2015
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It has been announced Ed Legget will step down as manager of the Standard Life UK Equity Unconstrained Fund and leave the investment group. Wesley McCoy will take over management of the fund with immediate effect.
Wesley McCoy is currently Investment Director of UK Larger Companies at Standard Life Investments. He originally joined the firm in 1998 and launched the strategy behind the UK Equity Unconstrained Fund in September 2005. He managed the fund from its launch in 2005 until April 2008. Over this time the fund delivered a return of 50.8%*, compared with 22.4% for the FTSE All Share index and 17.9% for the IA UK All Companies sector, although please remember this serves as no guide to future performance. The manager subsequently left the group to pursue charity work and re-joined Standard Life in September 2012.
| Annual percentage growth | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 10 -
June 11 |
June 11 -
June 12 |
June 12 -
June 13 |
June 13 -
June 14 |
June 14 -
June 15 | |
| Standard Life UK Equity Unconstrained Fund | 44.01% | -18.02% | 60.04% | 21.02% | 11.04% |
| FTSE All Share | 20.01% | -8.05% | 30.06% | 10.02% | 6.08% |
| IA UK All Companies | 23.06% | -10.00% | 32.05% | 11.08% | 9.02% |
Past performance is not a guide to future returns. Source: Lipper IM* to 01/06/15
We have decided to maintain this fund's place on the Wealth 150 list of our favourite funds across the major sectors. While we often remove funds from the Wealth 150 following a change in management, we are comfortable with the continuity of this fund's process and philosophy. Wesley McCoy was instrumental in its initial development, while he will also continue to have the support of Standard Life's 15-strong UK Equities team. The fund reflects the best ideas from across the UK team, including Standard Life's Head of Equities David Cummings, a highly experienced UK investor. Therefore, performance is not solely reliant on the fund's lead manager.
That said, we view Wesley McCoy as a talented manager of UK equities. He has previously demonstrated an ability to outperform the wider UK market and add value through his stock picking ability, according to our analysis, although there are no guarantees this will be repeated. The UK Equity Unconstrained Fund was previously on the Wealth 150 when he ran the fund and prior to Ed Legget assuming responsibility.
We view this as a more adventurous UK fund and it is a concentrated portfolio, which means each holding can have a significant impact on returns; however, this is a higher-risk approach. Exposure to small and medium-sized companies, as well as the potential to use derivatives, also adds further risk.
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