By ADRIAN LOWCOCK 14/05/2009
William Littlewood came to prominence in 1991 working for the investment management group Jupiter Asset Management as the manager of their income fund. From December 1990 to the end of the decade the fund produced a total return of 567%, compared to an average of 344% for the FTSE All Share Index. Littlewood delivered over 300% more than the average for the Equity Income sector – a colossal achievement, even eclipsing the likes of Invesco Perpetual Income manager, Neil Woodford. Whilst running the Jupiter Income fund William was able to add value by making strategic moves in and out of the fixed income sector to complement the mainly equity element of the portfolio. Littlewood shocked the investment community when he left in 2000 to recuperate.
Littlewood returned to managing money with Artemis in 2005, however the fund did not hit the headlines largely because it was an unregulated hedge fund and could not be widely marketed to clients within the UK. Having spent the last four years with Artemis investing in a wider range of asset classes through the hedge fund he has demonstrated his skills are transferrable. He has now re-entered the retail market as manager of Artemis Strategic Assets
Bestinvest view
William Littlewood’s equity income track record is impressive, however it is not appropriate to use for a fund such as this. Littlewood will be given a mandate which carries more investment freedom than has ever been given to an Artemis manager. His previous experience in a similar area has been over the period February 2006 to November 2008 when managing a relatively small hedge fund which had a large component of personal and friendly money. Our analysis has shown that the performance of the hedge fund was very volatile and a criticism may be that he was sometimes too early into trades.
The new UCITs fund has no direct exposure to emerging markets (although many of the companies in which he invests are global in nature), with the manager preferring to concentrate on those markets where he is more experienced. The limited internal risk controls point to a bumpy ride for investors in this fund, and whilst the manager has an excellent reputation in equity income it is now over 9 years old and in a different sector.
Bestinvest Recommendation
Our research team has carried out an in depth due diligence of William Littlewood’s track record and the new fund. This includes a rigorous assessment of his recent hedge fund track record which is more relevant to investors in his new fund than his equity income track record which finished in 2000. When running the hedge fund it was noted that performance was very volatile, and he was often early into trades. The fund has limited formal risk controls and contains significant key man risk. We have awarded the fund 3 stars.