fund
This is one of our rated funds. They’re the ones our experts believe will do well for investors over the longer term. Top of the class!
TM CRUX European Special Situations I GBP
Multi-cap continental European equity fund run by Richard Pease at boutique CRUX.
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244.68p
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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323.18p
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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0.88%
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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1.10%
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 capture capital growth while protecting the portfolio from potential downside by investing in continental European equities. Fund managers Richard Pease and James Milne favour quality companies, defined as those able to sustain high returns over the long-term and able to weather economic cycles. They invest in companies of all sizes and the portfolio typically has a higher weighting in lesser-known small and mid-cap stocks compared to the index and the peer group. They also favour dividend-paying companies, so the fund typically pays a reasonable yield.
Fund summary
| Sector | Europe Excluding UK |
| Structure | OEIC |
| Launched | June, 2015 |
| Size | £999m |
| Yield | 1.10% |
| Charging basis | Capital |
| Dividends paid | 31 May, 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 | 0.88% |
Allocation
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Investment process
The fund’s investible universe is around 3,000 continental European companies. Ideas are sourced from quant screens, management meetings, company/industry/analyst reports, and peer/customer reviews. The portfolio often includes a small number of UK and US companies – these are typically identified during reviews of the global peer group. Stock selection is almost entirely bottom-up, with the managers looking for four key criteria in companies: Business Strategy - Pease targets companies able to generate a superior return on capital employed (ROCE) over a long period and able to weather economic cycles. Typically these will have pricing power and be protected by barriers to entry. Quality of management - Pease and Milne look for managers with proven track records, equity participation in the business and a realistic business plan. Sound finances - Capital intensive companies, those with high debt and those with unsustainably low tax rates are avoided. Attractive valuation - Pease describes his style as Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) and will avoid highly valued stocks (PE above 20), unless they pay a high dividend. Companies with no dividend are typically avoided. He also typically avoids commodity-related businesses, banks and insurance companies, those with high capex and those with regulatory risk.
Richard Pease has a long and successful track record in European investing, having generated substantial outperformance at Jupiter in the 1990s and later at New Star and Henderson. He set up boutique CRUX in 2015, taking this fund with him, and has continued his success. As well as strong relative returns his funds have also typically displayed defensive characteristics, with lower than market volatility and an element of downside protection. He benefits from the support of co-manager James Milne, who he has worked with for more than a decade. The duo also run the CRUX European fund, which is similar but has more exposure to larger companies.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -0.49%
- 17/18 0.23%
- 18/19 -0.54%
- 19/20 -0.17%
- 20/21 -0.09%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years -0.27%
- 5 years -0.21%
- Career 0.19%
- 3 years 15.20%
- 5 years 20.30%
- Career 97.70%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Richard Pease / James Milne
Pease began his career at Knight Frank & Rutley as a graduate trainee, before moving to the Central Board of Finance for the Church of England where he ran two funds. He moved to Windsor Investment Management in 1987 where he set up and ran the European Unit Trust. In 1989 he joined Jupiter, running the Jupiter European fund and heading up a five-strong team. He joined New Star in May 2001 and then Henderson when it acquired New Star in 2009 and was a Director of European Equities there from 2009-2015. In June 2015 Pease set up Crux, bringing his European Special Situations with him from Henderson. He holds a BA in General Arts from Durham University. Milne graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford with a double first class degree in Engineering Science. He began his career in 2002 at KPMG in London where he qualified as a chartered accountant before moving into corporate finance. In 2006 he joined New Star Asset Management and in 2009 he transferred to Henderson Global Investors when it bought New Star. He worked on the Henderson European Special Situations fund from launch in 2009 and in 2015 he moved to CRUX at the same time as the fund and Pease.
Track record
Richard Pease / James Milne has 11.5 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.19%. During the worst period of relative performance (from September 2016 - June 2020) there was a decline of 14% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 22%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is 98%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -22.00% (April 2011 - September 2011) |
| Relative | -14.00% (September 2016 - June 2020) |
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.
Allocation
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 31 July 2020
| 4.0245% | Sgs Sa |
| 3.402% | Prosus N.v. |
| 3.3794% | Alphabet Inc |
| 3.3428% | Bureau Veritas |
| 3.3337% | Spie |
| 3.2158% | Givaudan Sa |
| 3.2046% | Bawag Group Ag |
| 3.0053% | Finecobank |
| 2.9702% | Novartis Ag |
| 2.9108% | Sap Se |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Services | 17.00% |
| Capital Goods | 14.00% |
| Biotechnology/Medical | 9.00% |
| Software | 8.00% |
| Banks | 7.00% |
| Media | 7.00% |
| Retail | 7.00% |
| Materials | 5.00% |
| Money Market | 4.00% |
| Financials | 4.00% |
Portfolio
40-80 stocks.
Constraints
Max 5% UK, max 10% ex Europe. There are no other country or sector constraints.