Woodford funds took top billing in April

07 May 2015

Tilney Bestinvest's Managing Director Jason Hollands comments on the ten most popular funds for execution-only clients using the firm's Online Investment Service in April 2015:

1. Woodford Patient Capital Trust

“April’s inflows were unsurprisingly dominated by the Initial Public Offer for the Woodford Patient Capital Trust, which raised a staggering £800 million and began trading on 21 April. This comfortably made it the UK’s largest ever investment trust launch. This investment trust is quite unlike his existing blue-chip biased income fund, as it will target small, growth companies, including making venture capital investments into unquoted businesses. As the name says on the tin, when investing in these nascent businesses investors need to be patient and in for the long haul.

2. CF Woodford Equity Income

“Second on our list is the Woodford Equity Income fund, consistently popular with investors since its launch last year. Unlike the newly launched Patient Capital Trust, this fund invests mainly in large-cap UK equities with some mid-cap and oversees exposure. The fund’s top holdings currently include AstraZeneca, Imperial Tobacco, British American Tobacco and GlaxoSmithKline.”

3. Threadneedle European Select

“European equity funds have surged in popularity with investors this year, as they seek to capitalise on the massive Eurozone stimulus programme and the expected economic boost western European should receive from weak energy price.

“Threadneedle European Select has been a longstanding fund we have rated highly and is a relatively concentrated portfolio of 45-60 mostly large high-quality global growth companies with  sustainable and recurring revenues (rather than very cyclical businesses) that have strong franchises and consistent above-average growth.

“Companies the manager currently favours include luxury goods firms Richemont (owners of Cartier, Alfred Dunhill and Mont Blanc), L’Oreal (cosmetics) and brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev whose brands include iconic ‘American’ lagers Budweiser and Michelob. Healthcare is another major theme in the portfolio, accounting for 20.4% of the fund with the top holdings including Novo Nordisk and Novartis.”

4. Tilney Bestinvest Aggressive Growth Portfolio

“One of two Tilney Bestinvest Multi-asset Portfolios to feature on our top ten, this fund has a high exposure to equities at 73%, over half of which is outside of the UK. Around a quarter of the portfolio is diversified across bonds, commercial property andtargeted absolute return funds.”

5. First State Asia Pacific Leaders

“Asia markets can be very volatile but the First State Stewart Asia Pacific team, headed by industry veteran Angus Tulloch, has a fairly conservative investment style focused on high quality companies. This fund currently has a significant overweight position in India, at 20% of the portfolio, which is undergoing a significant reform programme and is conversely very underweight China (4.6%) which has seen a slowdown and where concerns persistent about the scale of credit issued in recent years.”

6. Tilney Bestinvest Growth Portfolio

“The second of Tilney Bestinvest’s Multi-Asset Portfolios to feature on the list, the Growth fund is 63% invested in equities with a greater bias towards the UK than the fund mentioned above.”

7. Standard Life Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS)

“‘GARS’ has been a huge success story for Standard Life Investments, growing to a towering £25 billion in size since its launch in 2008. The fund is an umbrella for around 30 underlying individual investment strategies, utilising equities, bonds and currencies with the overall goal of aiming to generate positive returns over the medium term regardless of market conditions with low volatility. Despite the emergence of some credible challengers with not dissimilar approaches, GARS continues to enjoy strong support from our clients.”

8. Liontrust Special Situations

“In many ways Liontrust Special Situations fund could be considered as a UK fund for “all-seasons”, having historically delivered consistent outperformance with lower volatility than the FTSE All Share Index. Underpinning the fund is a clear and distinctive investment approach which the managers describe as the ‘Economic Advantage’ investment process. This is about focusing on companies that have durable characteristics that the managers believe will sustain above-average profits for longer than expected which means the fund avoids the sorts of businesses whose earnings are very sensitive to changes in the economic climate. The sorts of business that have these characteristics that the managers favour typically have either ownership of intellectual property (e.g.  patents), strong or captive distribution channels that provide a barrier to potential competitors or significant recurring business. The managers avoid companies operating in areas that can easily be subjected to price competition, are highly cyclical businesses or potentially subject to political interference such as utilities.”

9. AXA Framlington Biotech

“Biotech companies, developing therapies at the cutting edge of medical research have been a hot sector in recent years, with a plethora of IPOs in the US and specialist funds investing in these companies have clearly appeared on the radar of investors. It’s an exciting area for long term investors but not for the faint hearted – these types of companies can be incredibly volatile and niche funds that specialise in investing in them should only be considered by investors who can stomach a considerable amount of risk.”

10. Threadneedle UK Equity Income

“While the Woodford Equity Income fund has hoovered up an incredible amount of investors cash over the last year, Neil Woodford isn’t the only long established income fund manager with a great track record. Threadneedle duo Leigh Harrison and Richard Colwell have been consistent performers, take a fairly balanced approach investing predominantly in large and mid-cap UK equities, typically holding between 45 and 60 companies. The fund is managed on a total return basis, with stocks held both for their dividend and growth potential.”


At a glance, the ten most popular funds our Online Investment Service clients chose in April 2015:


- ENDS -


Press contacts:

Roisin Hynes

0207 189 2403
07966 843 699

Matthew Gray
020 7189 2492


Important information


Different funds carry varying levels of risk depending on the geographical region and industry sector in which they invest. You should make yourself aware of these specific risks prior to investing.

Investment trusts are similar to funds in that they provide a means of pooling your money but they are publicly listed companies whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. The price of their shares will fluctuate according to investor demand and changes in the value of their underlying assets.

Targeted Absolute Return funds do not guarantee a positive return and you could get back less than you invested, as with any other investment. Additionally, the underlying assets of these funds generally use complex hedging techniques through the use of derivative products, which can carry additional risks which may not be immediately apparent.

Due to their nature, specialist funds can be subject to specific sector risks. Investors should ensure they read all relevant information in order to understand the nature of such investments and the specific risks involved.


About Tilney Bestinvest




We have won numerous awards including UK Wealth Manager of the Year, Low-cost SIPP Provider of the Year and Self-select ISA Provider of the Year 2013, as voted by readers of the Financial Times and Investors Chronicle. We are pleased that our greatest source of new business is personal referrals from existing clients.

Headquartered in Mayfair, London, Tilney Bestinvest employs almost 400 staff across our network of offices, giving us full UK coverage, and we combine our award-winning research and expertise to provide a personalised service to clients whatever their investment needs.


For further information, please visit: www.tilneybestinvest.co.uk

About Tilney


