Details have emerged of how the new fund into which Hargreaves Lansdown founder Peter Hargreaves is placing £25m of his own money will invest.
The CF Blue Whale Growth fund will invest in a portfolio of between 25 and 35 global stocks.
The fund will sit within the IA Global sector.
It will be managed by Stephen Yiu, formerly of Artemis and New Star.
Mr Yiu has appointed Robert Lloyd, formerly of Nevski Capital, as a co-manager.
Mr Hargreaves has known Mr Yiu for more than a decade and is impressed with his work, according to Robert Hargreaves, marketing director for the fund and son of the Hargreaves Lansdown founder.
The CF Blue Whale Growth fund will ape some of the most successful funds in the IA Global sector through having a very concentrated portfolio, but the intention is to have a broader investment style.
The top performing fund in the sector over the past three and five years is the £12bn Fundsmith Equity fund.
This fund has 29 holdings. The Blue Whale Growth fund intends to be more diverse in the types of companies in which it will invest.
The manager will invest not only in the type of very large, consumer staple companies that it believes are a staple of some of the best performing funds in the sector, but also in more cyclical companies and what it calls “structural growth” companies in areas such as technology.
Mr Robert Hargreaves was keen to emphasise that the Blue Whale Global Equity fund is not simply aimed to be a fund for the personal wealth of Mr Hargreaves and friends.
He hinted that other funds may be launched under the Blue Whale banner in future, but nothing is imminent.
Mr Peter Hargreaves is invested both in the fund and the fund management company.
Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Group, said: “Peter Hargreaves knows Stephen Yiu well and clearly holds him in high regard.
"Mr Yiu is fortunate to have such a prominent, cornerstone investor who has also brought the launch of his fund huge amounts of publicity that would not normally be enjoyed a relatively unknown fund manager launching a start-up.
"It will be interesting to see if Peter Hargreaves faith is rewarded but from the perspective of an outsider there are too many unknown factors to consider this fund for now.
"At Artemis Mr Yiu worked with veteran stock picker Tim Steer on a UK equity fund, so he has certainly worked alongside a very capable, high conviction manager. Whether that translates into success on this new global fund, only time will tell.”
david.thorpe@ft.com
