New Star launches European Value Fund

New Star is pleased to announce the successful transfer of the Tilney European Growth Fund to New Star. The fund has been renamed the New Star European Value Fund and will keep its top-quartile performance track record. The fund’s highly-regarded manager, Nicholas Sheridan, has relocated from Liverpool to London since he announced he would be joining New Star in April 2007.

Nicholas has an excellent record of managing large-cap stocks in Europe excluding the UK. The New Star European Value Fund will maintain its strong bias towards large-cap stocks and will complement Richard Pease’s top-decile† European Growth Fund and Daniel White’s top-quartile Pan-European Equity Fund‡. Nicholas’s appointment and the launch of the New Star European Value Fund strengthens New Star’s position as one of the top performing European investment houses.

Under Nicholas’s tenure, the New Star European Value Fund has produced top-quartile performance since launch, returning 93.3% compared to 76.9% for the IMA Europe excluding UK sector index.

Nicholas’s investment process is based on a proprietary quantitative system that enables him to bring a greater focus to his stock selection. Since Nicholas introduced his screening process in August 2004, the New Star European Value Fund has produced top-decile performance, returning 108% compared to 87.6% for the IMA Europe excluding UK sector index#. This places the fund seventh out of 93 funds in its sector#. Nicholas currently has an ‘AA’ rating from Citywire.

£35m Tilney UK equity fund and £103m Tilney UK fixed interest fund also transfer to New Star

In addition to the Tilney European Growth Fund, the Tilney UK Equity Fund and Tilney UK Fixed Interest Funds have also transferred to New Star. The Tilney UK Equity Fund has now merged into the New Star UK Growth Fund, which is managed by New Star’s highly-respected joint chief investment officer, Stephen Whittaker. The Tilney UK Fixed Interest Fund has now merged into the New Star Sterling Bond Unit Trust, which is managed by Phil Roantree, one of the UK’s leading investment grade corporate bond fund managers.

Mark Skinner, managing director, New Star Investment Funds, says: “We are delighted that Nicholas Sheridan and the Tilney European Growth Fund have now transferred to New Star. Nicholas’s track record is outstanding and we are confident he will maintain his excellent performance for investors in the New Star European Value Fund.”