Leigh Himsworth has taken on the management of the Gartmore UK Focus and Gartmore UK Growth. Himsworth joined Gartmore in September as Head of UK Equities, having previously worked for Royal London. He replaces Sacha Sadan, who had been running the UK Growth fund since 2006 and the UK Focus fund on a temporary basis following the departure of Simon King in August this year.
The UK Focus fund is also to undergo a change of name and mandate in early January. Under its new name, Gartmore UK Alpha, the fund will be allowed to hold a greater number of stocks - currently it is restricted to between 25 and 40. The fund will continue to invest across the market cap spectrum but, in keeping with Himsworth’s background, it likely to have a mid cap bias.
Recommendation
Himsworth has a reasonable track record in the UK All Companies sector, having achieved an MRI of 97.7% over an 8 year track record at Royal London and Rensburg. However, his average monthly outperformance is only 0.12%, mostly gained during a short period in 2008. Whilst his appointment might be a postitive step compared to his predecessors, at present we prefer alternative UK multicap funds such as.BlackRock UK Special Situations, AXA Framlington UK Select Opportunities and M&G Recovery.