Bestinvest says
Alex Darwall manages this portfolio in an unconstrained manner and the fund is likely to diverge from the benchmark to quite a reasonable extent. However Darwall has established a long and successful track record of producing capital returns to investors.
Recently he has maintained a significant overweight to pharmaceuticals, particularly those exposed to changes in Asia's demographics. Despite the success of this position Darwall seems likely to retain these positions for some time. This is symptomatic of his style.
Investors also have the option of investing in his Investment Trust Jupiter European Opportunities, which is managed along similar lines.
The fund aims to achieve long term capital appreciation by investing in quoted European companies.
The fund manager has a focus on profitable growth companies where management has a proven track record. The fund manager will also generally target companies with high visibility of earnings, strong cash generation and a strong competitive position.
The investment process therefore places a high degree of emphasis on company meetings.
Note that the manager will also employ cash tactically when he believes that the market is overvalued.
Although the fund size is large, over 50% of the portfolio may be invested in smaller and medium-sized companies, which potentially may present liquidity problems.
This unit trust is run on a similar basis to the London listed Investment Trust, Jupiter European Opportunities.