InvestmentsJun 29 2020

BMO team turns to Train for pandemic protection

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BMO team turns to Train for pandemic protection

Gary Potter, who runs 10 multi-manager funds at BMO Global Asset Management, have been buying the Lindsell Train UK Equity fund, despite investors pulling hundreds of millions of pounds from it in recent months. 

Data from Morningstar shows investors have pulled a net £560m from the Lindsell Train UK Equity fund over the year to the end of May.  

Nick Train’s fund has underperformed its peer group over the past three months, returning 22 per cent compared with 24 per cent for the average fund in the IA UK All Companies sector in the same time period.

But it remains among the top 25 per cent of funds in the sector over one, three, and five years.  

Mr Potter, whose multi-manager funds have assets of £2.5bn, said he prefers to invest in value funds in the current climate, even though Mr Train is the archetypal growth manager.

He says: “The data shows value funds tend to outperform against growth when markets are recovering after a major fall. Value investing is out of favour now but it will come back.

"The thing we cannot be sure about is the timing, and so we recently bought the Lindsell Train UK Equity fund as it has defensive and growth characteristics that work during periods of uncertainty.” 

Mr Train has previously said he won’t alter his growth investment style even if it does fall from favour with the wider market.

Mr Potter said: “One of the biggest things we look for when picking a fund is a manager that sticks to their style. We run funds for clients with different risk attitudes etc but that is one of the main things we look for.” 

Among the value funds on which he is keen is the JO Hambro UK Equity Income fund, which has lost 6.5 per cent over the past five years.

david.thorpe@ft.com