Crux Asset Management has announced its newest fund, the FP Crux European fund, to be managed by Richard Pease and James Milne. The fund, which will target long-term capital growth will be supported by analyst Roland Grender.
This is the first new fund unveiled since the employee-owned business launched earlier this year. The fund will invest in a concentrated portfolio of large-cap European stocks and will focus on businesses that are “best of breed” on a global level, and will put emphasis on where sales are generated rather than a country of origin.
The fund will sit alongside the group’s European Special Situations fund (below), which Crux imported along with Mr Pease from Henderson, and will follow the same investment approach. The minimum initial investment for the income share class is £1,000 with minimum subsequent investments of £500. The fund could be subject to a further 0.75 per cent charge.
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Comment:
Still a relatively difficult place to invest, Europe is starting to see some sparks of life. Similar to Crux’s other European fund, this will apply the same strategy and particularly look for companies that are not highly capital intensive
While GDP in the eurozone slowed to 0.3 per cent in the second quarter (from 0.4 per cent in Q1), many countries in the bloc grew, albeit slowly. Germany, for example saw its growth rate quicken to 0.4 per cent in the second quarter (from 0.3 per cent) and Italy, the Netherlands and Austria all saw some growth.
As the fund is not yet launched, its asset allocation is currently unavailable, but looking into Crux’s other European fund, its focus lies within German, Swiss, Swedish and French equities. The fund – which launches 12 October with a limited fixed price offer period until 30 October – allows up to 10 per cent to be invested in global stocks, which may help mitigate some risk associated with European stocks. Alongside this. the fund may also take unconstrained exposure to the Swiss market and can allocate up to 5 per cent in the UK.
The fact Crux is a new company may deter some investors to begin with. But the managers’ experience in the area can be an added bonus, particularly in a difficult space such as Europe, meaning new investors can have confidence in investing their money with an established team.