Standard Life Investments celebrates decade of UK Equity Unconstrained Fund

Since launch, the fund has returned 328 per cent to investors versus the IA UK Equity sector average of 76.2 per cent placing it in the first percentile of its peer group.

The Fund aims to provide capital growth over the longer term by investing in UK equities.

It typically holds a concentrated portfolio of stocks and its unconstrained nature allows the manager to take advantage of under-researched opportunities from across the market.

By using an internal reference index, the FTSE 350 Equally Weighted Index, the Fund is not influenced by market weightings and can focus on developing a portfolio of Standard Life Investments’ best investment ideas.

Wesley McCoy, manager of the fund, said: “The outstanding multi-year performance of this fund since launch is testament to its truly unconstrained approach, our proven Focus on Change investment philosophy and the research capabilities and continuity provided by our 13 strong UK Equity team - not to mention the pool of knowledge and expertise of the wider investment team at Standard Life Investments.

“Despite robust domestic growth, many internationally focused UK large-caps have struggled this year. Concerns over growth rates in China, currency volatility and weak commodity prices have all negatively impacted investor sentiment and prospects for global growth. Consequently, our ongoing research efforts have been able to unearth more compelling opportunities in domestically oriented companies exhibiting positive company-specific change.

“A good example of how our Focus on Change investment philosophy works is our investment into companies such as fashion retailer SuperGroup, who have appointed new management to rejuvenate its Superdry brand through various self-help initiatives. By focusing analysis on positive company-level outcomes, we’re confident that an unconstrained approach to UK equities will continue to be an attractive source of upside for our investors, whatever the fortunes of the overall market.”