at Schroder’s Richard built an excellent reputation delivering consistent and steady outperformance. Since taking over the fund in 2013 he has continued that path.
To a greater extent one of the areas where we are nervous is around branding, and in particular a fund manager’s brand. The manager of the Old Mutual UK Alpha Fund is one of those brands. Richard Buxton built his reputation at Schroders before leaving in 2013 to join Old Mutual.
His name carries much weight, the Old Mutual Fund has grown from £160 million to nearly £2 billion since he joined and part of that has come across from the fund he managed at Schroders.
The performance of the Schroder’s Funds he managed cannot be disputed delivering consistent above benchmark performance. His strategy is simple, he focuses on a small number of stocks (currently 37) which he looks to hold for a three to five year time horizon.
The top ten make up 37% of the fund with the main holdings in the likes of HSBC, International Consolidated Airlines Group, Friends Life Group and Barclays PLC.
In a recent interview he believes his experience means that he has the patience to stick with stocks, even in the tough times, on the basis that they will correct and deliver positive returns for the fund over the long term.
His reason for leaving Schroders seems simple, at Schroders he was a small fish in a big pond. At Old Mutual he can be a big fish in a small pond (although that pond could get bigger).
In this update with Richard we will look at some of the areas he is currently investing in and this will provide an insight as to how he invests money.