AEGON Asset Management launches UK opportunities fund

AEGON Asset Management is launching a UK Opportunities fund, which will aim to provide investors with consistent top quartile performance through a concentrated, high conviction stock-picking approach.

The AEGON UK Opportunities fund builds on the growing reputation of its UK Equity team and will seek to achieve maximum returns through a flexible and pragmatic investment approach. It will invest in a multi-cap portfolio of predominately UK based stocks, although initially there will be a greater emphasis on small to mid-caps, which reflects AEGON’s view of where the value is in the current market.

Managed by Audrey Ryan, with Peter Shaw as support manager, the UK Opportunities fund intends to take an unconstrained investment approach, capitalising on the recognised research capabilities of the UK equity team.

The launch of the UK Opportunities fund has been driven by demand from our customers for an unconstrained UK equities product.

Ryan currently runs the AEGON Ethical Equity Fund, which has achieved consistent strong performance top quartile over one, three and five years.

AEGON, director third party business, Jon Bennett says: “Audrey Ryan and the AEGON UK equities team have a proven strong and growing reputation as stock-pickers, they have a highly disciplined and dynamic team based approach, which is borne out by the recent successes of the UK Equity, Ethical Equity and UK Smaller Companies funds.”

Ryan says: “The UK Opportunities fund will aim to take advantage of our experience and in-depth knowledge of the UK equities market without any benchmark constraints. It will be a high conviction, stock-picking fund with no sector or stock limits and have an ideal range of 50 to 60 stocks.”

To mark the launch of the AEGON UK Opportunities fund early investors will benefit from a 2.5% discount reducing the initial charge to 3% for the first two months. This means that if the 3% initial commission is rebated there are zero up-front costs for the investor.

Launched on 1st March 2007 the AEGON UK Opportunities fund is one of three new funds to be launched by AEGON Asset Management. It is also launching a UK Cautious Managed and an Ethical Cautious Managed fund.