Friends Provident introduces UK Special Situations Fund
14 September 2006
Friends Provident, the FTSE 100 life and pensions company, has launched its own unique UK Special Situations Fund.
The move comes in response to Fidelity’s decision to split its Special Situations Fund and will broadly replicate the geographical exposure of its original fund.
The Friends Provident UK Special Situations Fund is made up of three externally managed funds and will have the following asset allocation with monthly rebalancing:
Merrill Lynch UK Special Situations Fund (42.5%)
M&G Recovery Fund (42.5%)
Artemis Global Growth Fund (15%)
The funds are run by Richard Plackett of Merrill Lynch, Tom Dobell of M&G, and Peter Saacke of Artemis and all are rated ‘AA’ by Forsyth-OBSR.
The fund will sit in the UK All Companies Sector with at least 80% of the portfolio in UK company shares and the remainder invested overseas. The aim of the fund is to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in funds that seek out growth from undervalued or out-of-favour companies.
Marc Haynes, manager of the fund strategy & selection group at Friends Provident, said: “The recent turbulence in equity markets has acted as a reminder of the benefits of true stock picking capability and the need for diversification of assets. Our new fund achieves this by tapping into the investment expertise of three top class fund managers.
“With the Friends Provident UK Special Situations Fund we are adding value by packaging together three highly complementary funds into a simple, but robust, core investment solution for our clients.”
Richard Royds, head of UK retail at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers said: “The Friends Provident UK Special Situations Fund offers the opportunity to invest in three of the best funds in the UK All Companies and Global Equities sectors, run by some of the biggest names. We're delighted that Richard Plackett's UK Special Situations Fund was selected as part of this proposition.”
Jonathan Willcocks, managing director UK Sales at M&G, said: “We feel that this is an innovative new product for investors seeking long term growth. We are delighted that the M&G Recovery Fund has been included in this new portfolio and to be working in partnership with a company of the standing of Friends Provident.”
