UK Opportunities Fund 7th anniversary

Leading fund manager, Standard Life Investments, this week (25 November 2009) celebrates the seventh anniversary of its £294m UK Opportunities Fund.

Managed by Caspar Trenchard since August 2007, the fund has produced top decile performance over all time periods except three years where it is top quartile. Since its launch in 2002, it has returned 165% to investors versus its sector average of 60.5%.

The fund sets out to beat its benchmark, the FTSE All Share - EX FTSE 100 & Investment Trusts, every calendar year. The fund's objective is that the compound effect of this good discrete annual out-performance will place the fund in the top quartile of the UK All Companies league table over rolling three year periods.

Claire Marshall, Investment Director - Mutual Funds, Standard Life Investments, said: "Over the last seven years, our UK Opportunities Fund has proven a popular option for investors looking to achieve capital growth over the longer term by investing in a mix of small and mid cap stocks. The robust stock selection process employed by our award winning UK Smaller Companies team coupled with their highly developed analytical capability leaves us well positioned to take advantage of individual stock opportunities as they arise."

Caspar Trenchard, Manager of the UK Opportunities Fund, Standard Life Investments, said: "The fund currently holds a spread of at least 60 stocks and employs a ‘core & satellite' approach which incorporates longer term strategic holdings and shorter term, more tactical investment opportunities. While both strands add return, the satellite has been enjoying an especially rich vein of opportunity as well as performing its ancillary role of market volatility compression. Investors are looking to the future and we believe our approach will generate superior risk-adjusted returns for investors."