Schroders has pushed its way to the top of the performance tables, with four out of 25 of the Best of British Fund Managers list being funds run by the firm.
The four funds - the most of anyone company in the list - are Schroder UK Dynamic Smaller Companies, Schroder Recovery, Schroder UK Alpha Income, and Schroder UK Smaller Companies.
The ranking of 25 managers is based on their returns over the last decade, in a list compiled by TD Direct Investing.
James Rainbow, co-head of UK intermediary at Schroders, said: “It is always welcome when our fund managers are recognised for the job they have done but it is particularly pleasing in this case.
"The research that TD Direct Investing have done for their Best of British List clearly demonstrates that there are managers who have added significant value to their clients’ investments over the long term. For our fund managers to be included amongst some of the best-known managers in the industry is a credit to the job that they have done.”
Mark Slater, of Slater Investments, has once again been crowned the Best British Fund manager, with his focus on investing in smaller companies with unique business models and strong growth prospects continuing to prove attractive.
"I’m delighted to be at the top of the list again this year as it validates an extremely effective and long-standing investment process, a team that has worked together for many years and our long-term approach,” Mr Slater said.
TD Direct, which carried out the research, said that every fund in the top 25 had outperformed the FTSE all Share over the ten-year period. Slater delivered returns of 12.6 per cent against the FTSE’s 5.6 per cent.
Michelle McGrade, chief investment officer at TD Direct Investing, said that the research showed that active management was alive and well, but that investors should pick the best available.
“There has been much criticism of active funds, with many saying that the average manager has failed to beat the benchmark. But what this means is that people shouldn’t invest in an average manager.,” she said.
She added that the TD research had indicated a shift away from growth-style investing, with value now appearing to be more in fashion.
Additionally, managers with exposure to cyclical sectors including financials and materials are typically performing better since Trump’s election win and his promise to invest heavily in infrastructure.
However, financial adviser Patrick Connolly from Chase de Vere said that styles go in and out of fashion, and that investors should rely on diversification as well as performance.
"No investment funds or investment fund managers are always at the top of the performance tables, particularly in the short term," he said.
" This is because different investment styles and sectors come in and out of favour. While growth funds had been dominant for some time, this has been changing and it is more value based managers who are now leading the way in the short-term. However, nobody knows what the future holds and so the best approach is to hold a range of different fund managers who adopt different styles."
