The Henderson Multi-Manager Income & Growth fund aims to provide an income stream for investors in excess of the yield of the FTSE All-Share, but under the stewardship of Bill McQuaker, it has done significantly better than that. It's second only to CF Ruffer Total Return in the Investment Management Association's (IMA) Cautious Managed unit trust sector, having gained 48 per cent in cumulative value over the past five years. It has also outgunned the sector in each of the previous five years, although given its rather steep total expense ratio (TER), unit holders probably wouldn't be satisfied with anything less.
Mr McQuaker, a 23-year industry veteran, joined Henderson from Credit Suisse in 2005 and was promoted to head of equities at Henderson Global Investors last September - but retained control of multi-manager funds like this one.
He remains unconvinced about the sustainability of the global economic rally, but has diverted cash into a number of existing positions that are benefiting from current market sentiment, such as BlackRock Gold & General. He has also been looking for income alternatives as concerns mount over the level of government bond yields. Overall, though, the fund remains on a defensive footing as governments reach the limits of their ability to artificially boost economies. According to Mr McQuaker, we remain in an "extraordinary situation, with little precedent."
| PRICE | 116.2p | SHARPE RATIO | -0.2* |
| SIZE OF FUND: | £155m | 1 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 21.12%* |
| No OF HOLDINGS: | 24 | 3 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 3.93%* |
| SET UP DATE | 16 February 1998 | 5 YEAR PERFORMANCE | 7.85%* |
| MANAGER START DATE | 1 July 2005 | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 2.55%* |
| BETA | 0.72* | YIELD | 2.44% |
| VOLATILITY (3-YEAR MEAN) | 4.2%* | MINIMUM INVESTMENT | Initial £1,000 savings £100 |
| TRACKING ERROR | na | MORE DETAILS | henderson.com |
Source: Henderson & *Morningstar (11/11/09)
Top 10 Holdings (30/09/09)
| Holding | Percentage |
|---|---|
| IP Income Inc | 8.6 |
| Henderson Liq Assets Sterling Inst Z | 7.94 |
| Henderson Fund Mgmt. | 6.96 |
| Henderson Strategic Bond Inc | 6.74 |
| L&G Dynamic Bond Inc | 6.51 |
| PF (LUX) Asian Local Ccy Debt P Inc | 5.53 |
| M&G Corporate Bond A Inc | 5.41 |
| Jupiter Financial Opportunities | 5.01 |
| M&G Recovery A Inc | 4.76 |
| Henderson UK Equity Income I Inc | 4.49 |
Sector breakdown
| Asset Allocation | Percentage |
|---|---|
| UK Equities | 26.3 |
| UK Fixed Interest | 13.9 |
| Specialist | 12.4 |
| Global Bonds | 9.3 |
| Asia ex Japan | 7.0 |
| North America | 5.2 |
| Other | 4.4 |
| Europe ex UK | 4.0 |
| Japan | 3.9 |
| Cash | 13.6 |
