Despite being run by two of the City's best fund managers, Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund has not had such a strong run over the past year, underperforming its benchmark over the same period. However, the fund aims for long-term growth rather than quick fixes and, due to its aim of minimising losses in falling markets, it may miss upturns.
"What is happening now is something we thought would have happened in 2010, and we were penalised for being positioned for this," says Guy de Blonay, lead fund manager of Jupiter Financial Opportunities. "In the first few months of 2011, European banks were very strong and not being invested in them cost us a lot of performance."
But with markets turning back down the fund may be in a better position than more aggressively positioned peers, and over longer periods remains the best performing broad financials fund.
The fund's managers pick stocks by taking a macro view of the global economy and identifying themes that have the most potential. They then look for reasonably priced stocks to express these views.
The fund's assets are divided into three categories to have a balanced exposure with the aim of addressing all sorts of markets.
The growth segment is largely focused on emerging markets, while stocks that offer a sustainable dividend and high yield in excess of around 5 per cent, include life insurance companies and regional Swiss banks.
Distressed opportunities account for another third. Mr De Blonay says he is considering BNP Paribas and UBS, which he does not have exposure to. "UBS, for example, needs to go through an extensive restructuring, after which we could see a shift in sentiment," says Mr De Blonay
JUPITER FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (GB0004790191) | |||
| PRICE: | 280.15p | SHARPE RATIO | 0.13 |
| SIZE OF FUND: | £606m* | 1-YR ANNUALISED PERFORMANCE: | -24.69% |
| No OF HOLDINGS: | 102 | 3-YR ANNUALISED PERFORMANCE: | 0.94% |
| SET UP DATE: | 2 June 1997 | 5-YR ANNUALISED PERFORMANCE: | -1.09% |
| MANAGER START DATE: | 2 June 1997/1 Jun 2010 | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO: | 5.25% |
| TURNOVER: | 516.35%* | YIELD: | 0.00% |
| MEAN RETURN: | 3.4% | MINIMUM INVESTMENT: | £500 |
| STANDARD DEVIATION | 17.28% | MORE DETAILS | jupiteronline.co.uk |
Source: Morningstar & *Jupiter
Performance data as at 26 September 2011
Top 10 holdings as at 31 August 2011
| Banque Cantonale Vaudoise | 6.87 |
| Schroders | 3.92 |
| Prudential | 3.91 |
| Partners Group | 3.05 |
| Jardine Matheson | 3.01 |
| Sberbank | 2.51 |
| United Overseas Bank | 2.47 |
| Legal & General | 2.34 |
| Swedbank | 2.33 |
| Sampo | 2.22 |
Geographical breakdown
| Europe | 25.85 |
| United Kingdom | 24.39 |
| North America | 22.89 |
| Far East ex Japan | 17.96 |
| Eastern Europe | 5.21 |
| Japan | 1.51 |
| Middle East | 0.39 |
| South America | 0.38 |
| Cash | 1.42 |
