Who is it for
Portfolio breakdown
Merian Global Equity Fund
'Follows the money' - uses a variety of investment styles and follow multiple themes to follow the outperforming parts of the market.
Mercantile IT
Invests primarily in medium-sized companies that are constituents of the FTSE 250 index.
Capital Gearing Trust
Heavily weighted to bonds, but is completely flexible in its asset allocation and has an absolute return objective.
F&C Investment Trust
Seeks to secure long-term growth in capital and income from an international diversified portfolio of listed equities, as well as unlisted securities and private equity with gearing.
LF Lindsell Train UK Equity
Invests in durable, cash-generative businesses and focuses on cash preservation, with an absolute return approach.
Fidelity Emerging Markets
Added because of its focus on larger companies and 'best of breed' approach
Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Trust
Solid replacement for Baring Eastern. Provides downside protection
Why these funds were selected
Read our latest
Model Portfolio
Quarterly Review
Providing the portfolio with a solid base are three UK invested funds, with different approaches. Capital Gearing Trust is heavily weighted to bonds, but it is completely flexible in its asset allocation and has an absolute return objective. Mercantile IT is a good active fund that should outperform over a 15-year period. It focuses on medium-sized companies. CF Miton UK Value Opportunities aims to provide exposure to undervalued companies that produce strong growth, although we have reduced our holding because of a manager change, and added Lindsell Train UK Equity for its focus on strong household names.
The portfolio’s overseas exposure consisted of two globally invested funds, Ardevora Global Equity and Witan. However, Witan was swapped for F&C Trust in October 2018, while Ardevora Global Equity was sold in June 2018 and replaced with Merian Global Equity, which is more suitable for a longer-term portfolio. These provide both diversification and a spread of risk not just in terms of their geographical distribution but also due to their different investment approaches. And, finally, there is Baring Eastern. A tech bias has helped this fund perform impressively in recent years. The team invests with environmental, social and governance principles in mind.
Model Portfolio Charlie performance 1 February 2019
Total return (%) over: | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 mth | 6 mths | 1 year | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | Inception | |
% | % | % | % | % | % | |
Charlie | 4.9 | -7.9 | -5.6 | 27.9 | 44.5 | 90.6 |
FTSE All Share | 4.2 | -8.4 | -3.8 | 28.5 | 31.2 | 72.6 |
FTSE UK Private Investor Growth | 3.1 | -4.0 | -0.1 | 34.3 | 48.1 | 86.2 |
Timeline
2019
-
Sell
BARING EASTERN
January 2019A significant loss-maker, down 16%, so selling
-
Sell
LF MITON UK VALUE OPPORTUNITIES
January 2019Disappointed by losing 17%
-
Buy
FIDELITY EMERGING MARKETS
January 2019Bought for its focus on larger companies
-
Buy
SCHRODER ASIAN TOTAL RETURN INVESTMENT TRUST
January 2019Combine quality growth firms with a degree of capital preservation
2018
-
Sell
Witan Investment Trust plc
October 2018A move designed to take some UK equity exposure off the table.
-
Buy
F&C Investment Trust
October 2018Dynamic asset allocation approach, including its exposure to private equity. Operates on a global scale, yet has just 6.6% of its assets in the UK.
-
Sell
ARDEVORA GLOBAL EQUITY
June 2018Replaced by punchier Old Mutual Global Equity
-
Buy
OLD MUTUAL GLOBAL EQUITY
June 2018Aims to 'follow the money' so may be relatively sensitive to market movements and therefore well-suited to a longer-term portfolio
-
Sell
HSBC FTSE ALL-SHARE INDEX FUND
January 2018 -
Buy
MERCANTILE IT
January 2018This is a good active fund that invests in medium-sized companies and should outperform over 15 years
-
Sell
STEWART ASIA PACIFIC LEADERS
January 2018 -
Buy
BARING EASTERN
January 2018A tech helped this fund perform impressively in recent years.
2017
-
Sell
KAMES ETHICAL CAUTIOUS MANAGED
January 2017 -
Buy
CAPITAL GEARING TRUST
January 2017Heavily weighted to bonds, but it is completely flexible in its asset allocation and has an absolute return objective.
2016
-
Reduce
CF MITON UK VALUE OPPORTUNITIES
July 2016Holding reduced because of manager change.
-
Buy
LINDSELL TRAIN UK EQUITY
July 2016To gain from absolute return approach and focus on cash preservation in challenging times.
2015
-
Sell
NEWTON REAL RETURN
July 2015Pedestrian performance.
-
Buy
KAMES ETHICAL CAUTIOUS MANAGED
July 2015To gain from this fund's greater growth potential but still relatively low risk approach.
-
Sell
LEGAL & GENERAL UK ALPHA
January 2015Returns more erratic than expected.
-
Buy
CF MITON UK VALUE OPPORTUNITIES
January 2015To benefit from managers who have shown a talent for finding undervalued companies which produce strong growth.
2014
-
Sell
MONKS
October 2014Disappointing performance.
-
Buy
ARDEVORA GLOBAL EQUITY
October 2014To gain from fund's global mandate and the fact that it can invest for the long term but also sell stocks short in order to take advantage of falling values.
2012
-
Buy
HSBC FTSE ALL-SHARE INDEX
January 2012To provide broad exposure to UK companies of all sizes without manager risk.
-
Buy
LEGAL & GENERAL UK ALPHA
January 2012To gain exposure to undervalued, and potentially faster growing UK companies.
-
Buy
MONKS
January 2012To provide global exposure and benefit from the trust's significant exposure to Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets.
-
Buy
NEWTON REAL RETURN
January 2012To provide absolute returns in all market conditions.
-
Buy
STEWART INV ASIA PACIFIC LEADERS
January 2012To provide exposure to fast growing Pacific region via investment in large and mid-sized companies.
-
Buy
WITAN
January 2012To provide global diversification gained through fund of funds approach.