Funds to watch – newcomers
Fidelity FAST US was launched in June 2013 and is managed by Aditya Khowala with the help of Fidelity’s 17-strong London-based US research team. The fund is designed to deliver enhanced relative and risk-adjusted returns through active use of short and long equity exposures. It has the flexibility to invest outside the fund’s principal geography, markets sectors and asset classes.
Polen Focus US Growth was set up in March 2013 and has since been managed by Dan Davidowitz and Damon Ficklin. The duo follows Polan’s concentrated large-cap US equity growth strategy. The managers look for companies with solid balance sheets, strong free cashflow generation, sustainable 20% return on equity, stable or expanding profit margins and shareholder-friendly management teams.
Aegon Large Cap Value was launched in April 2014 and is sub-advised by Levin Capital Strategies, a New York-based investment manager with $7.5bn of assets under management. The managers John Levin and Jack Murphy use a contrarian and value-oriented philosophy, focusing on quality companies with reasonable valuations that offer downside protection and have specific catalysts that they expect to trigger outperformance.