fund
Ninety One UK Smaller Companies I
Invests in UK equities below £500m in size using a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis.
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8889.49p
Price (Inc)
These are the shares in the fund that pay out an income to clients. The income is made up of the total dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – from the companies in the fund.
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333.76p
Price (Acc)
These are the shares in the fund that don’t pay out an income to clients. Any dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – are reinvested into companies in the fund. Despite no income, the shares should be worth more over time. Good incentive, eh?
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0.00%
Initial chargeSome funds charge you when you first invest, which is aptly known as the initial charge. They’re usually between 3-5% but at Bestinvest, we usually don’t charge you a penny!
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0.75%
Annual management charge
This is how much the fund management company charges to run the fund. It’s like paying a babysitter, dog sitter or house sitter (that makes well-informed, heavily researched changes to improve your baby/dog/house when needed).
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0.84%
Ongoing charges
This stands for Ongoing Charges Figure. It’s the cost of running a fund and includes admin fees, manager fees, administration costs, etc.
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0.50%
Yield
How much the fund is currently paying out in income to investors. It’s NOT to be confused with the overall growth of a fund – a very different thing indeed. It’s also NOT a guarantee of future pay-outs, just a snapshot. This is more what it’s not than what it is…
The Fund aims to achieve long term capital growth primarily through investment in equities issued by UK smaller companies. This is a genuine smaller companies fund, focusing on UK equities with a market capitalisation of up to £500m, however some mid cap stocks may be included. The stock universe is filtered using 4Factor, Investec's in-house quantitative system.
Fund summary
| Sector | UK Smaller Companies |
| Structure | OEIC |
| Launched | May, 2012 |
| Size | £289m |
| Yield | 0.50% |
| Charging basis | |
| Dividends paid | 30 Nov |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 0.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 0.75% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.84% |
Allocation
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Investment process
The team use a quantitative screening process, 4Factor, to identify potential investment opportunities from a universe of stocks taken from the Numis Smaller Companies plus AiM index, excluding investment trusts. The screen scores stocks across four equally weighted criteria: 1) Strategy - competent management teams creating value for shareholders; 2) Valuation - companies trading at a discount to fair value; 3) Dynamic - companies seeing upwards earnings revisions; 4) Technicals - factors focusing on share price momentum. The highest scoring stocks are then subject to fundamental analysis by Investec's sector analysts. Finally the portfolio is constructed by the named manager - position sizes vary according to conviction level, the stock's volatility and the stock's effect on portfolio risk.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -0.41%
- 17/18 0.00%
- 18/19 0.00%
- 19/20 1.79%
- 20/21 0.39%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 0.60%
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 96.10%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Matt Evans
Evans is co-manager of the Threadneedle UK Smaller Companies Fund, the Threadneedle UK Mid 250 Fund and a range of small cap institutional portfolios¹. He is also responsible for stock analysis and idea generation with research responsibility for construction and house builders. Before joining Threadneedle Evans was a Fund Manager at Legal & General Investment Management specialising in UK Small Caps. He gained a degree in Geography and Sports Science from Loughborough University.
Track record
Matt Evans has 3.8 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.6%. During the worst period of relative performance (from January 2016 - January 2017) there was a decline of 9% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 20%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is 96%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -20.00% (January 2020 - March 2020) |
| Relative | -9.00% (January 2016 - January 2017) |
About the MRI
Our unique indicator: the Bestinvest Manager Record Index (MRI) measures the likelihood that the fund manager is adding value through their decisions. It is based on their performance record over the course of their career, adjusted for the amount of risk taken. MRI is an important contributor to our fund rating system but it is also vital to take account of qualitative factors. It is also very important to select funds to form a cohesive portfolio with an appropriate overall risk level.
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 31 July 2020
| 3.5% | Fevertree Drinks Plc |
| 3.3% | Smart Metering Systems Plc |
| 3.2% | Kainos Group Plc |
| 2.7% | Diversified Gas & Oil Plc |
| 2.6% | Boku Inc |
| 2.6% | Ascential Plc |
| 2.5% | Clinigen Group Plc |
| 2.5% | Puretech Health Plc |
| 2.5% | Team17 Group Plc |
| 2.4% | Aj Bell Plc |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Consumer Goods | 20.00% |
| Industrials | 17.00% |
| Financials | 14.00% |
| Technology | 14.00% |
| Consumer Services | 12.00% |
| Health Care | 11.00% |
| Oil & Gas | 5.00% |
| Basic Materials | 3.00% |
| Money Market | 2.00% |
| Telecommunications | 2.00% |
Portfolio
The fund will typically hold between 60-90 stocks.
Constraints
Stock bets are limited to +/- 5% vs benchmark with max 10% in any one stock. Sector weights are limited to +/- 10% vs benchmark. Max 30% in FTSE 250 stocks. Max 40% in AiM stocks. Max market cap £500m.