For fund managers managing UK funds it is very competitive. Ultimately every manager will say they are different, but it comes down to the performance. Mike Prentis has been managing this Investment Trust since 2002 and has recently added Roland Arnold as co-manager. Roland has worked alongside Mike for 13 years and will eventually take on the lead manager role.
The fund has 166 holdings which seems a lot but is consistent when it comes to smaller company investing. The argument being that although they invest in high quality companies the volatility in share price can mean that having larger holdings puts more risk into the portfolio. Having said that with the introduction of Roland they are looking to bring the holdings down to around 100 over the next few years.
Mike is clearly passionate about what he does and believes long term smaller companies offer the greatest opportunities, but he also believes that active management is crucial as understanding companies ultimately reduces the risk. He is looking for great companies of the future so often a 5 year plus time frame. Initial investments are small and gradually they grow into core holdings if they play out as they expect….read more