Bestinvest says
Fund manager Philip Gibbs has specialised in financial stocks for most of his career and as a result has in depth knowledge of the companies in the sector. He has also been an astute judge of the economic environment, notably being one of the few managers to make money in 2008 when he predicted the banking crisis. He has a proven record on absolute returns mandates, having previously run the Jupiter Hyde Park hedge fund.
The fund invests worldwide in multiple asset classes, including equities, bonds, cash and commodities. The starting point for the process is macroeconomic themes identified by the manager, with stocks then being found to fit these themes. These will principally be financial companies (banks, insurance and property), but other sectors will also feature. Ideas are generated from 1)Company meetings 2)Jupiter analysts 3)Other fund managers 4)Stockbroker sales & research 5)Media & conferences. The manager performs company research and analysis, with a focus on quality of earnings. As well as holding physical long positions in these assets, the manager may create synthetic long and short positions using derivatives (sector swaps, contracts for difference and futures). Pair trades – combinations of long and short positions in similar companies - will also be included. The idea is to benefit from relative differences in their performance, regardless of whether markets rise or fall. Overall net market exposure (long positions less short positions) is actively managed, and will vary from -60% to +60%.