Following The Adviser Centre Monthly Review Meeting on 30^th January 2015, we moved the GLG UK Select fund to the Recommended list.  The fund previously featured on The Adviser Centre’s Positive Watch list.

The managers, Charlie Long and Nick Judge, took full responsibility for the fund in 2013. As a large-cap dominated vehicle, it marks itself out compared to the peer group, where funds are typically underweight in large companies.

The managers focus on identifying opportunities for companies to exceed consensus earnings and stock price expectations and manage the portfolio very actively, according to their differentiated view.  Indeed, portfolio turnover is high compared to peers and successful timing in their trading activity is an important element of their added value.  Their technical understanding of the market is reinforced by the management of their own long/short fund, as well as the wide range of other hedge funds offered by the firm.

As a Positive Watch list fund, we were observing the fund following team changes in 2013, when Mr Long and Mr Judge became lead managers after the previous lead manager stepped down. Since then, the two managers have re-asserted a stock-focused process, moving away from an approach that relied heavily upon top-down views.  This modified approach has resulted in markedly improved performance consistency.

Based upon our knowledge of the managers, their navigation of the market and the working environment at GLG, which is supportive of their active approach, we are now pleased to include the fund in our Recommended list.

The Adviser Centre now features 97 funds on its Recommended list, of which 19 are drawn from the IA UK All Companies sector.