Bestinvest says
From September 2008 this Investment Trust has been managed by Neil Woodford, Invesco's star manager. It is broadly managed in the same manner as his existing open ended Invesco Perpetual Income fund but with a more focused portfolio (40 stocks vs. 110). Woodford is one of the most respected fund managers in the industry, his investment style combines a macro economic overlay with in-depth stock specific analysis. The manager is not afraid to heavily skew his portfolio by sector to back his views. He has a high weight in telecoms and pharmaceuticals for their defensive characteristics and plans to increase his overseas investments from 15% to 20%.
The fund invests primarily in companies listed in the UK, historically the manager has also invested up to 15% of the fund's assets abroad to enable him to execute his investment strategy more effectively.
The manager initially shapes his portfolio through a top down view which is combined with fundamental analysis at the stock level focusing on balance sheets and cash flows. Although there is no rigid yield criteria, preference is for companies on reasonable yields with strong fundamentals. The total return philosophy, however, has meant that the income yield has generally been below the sector average.