Neil Woodford, one of the UK's most successful fund managers, has revealed the top 10 holdings bought for his new fund since launch on 2 June.
The three biggest holdings in his recently launched CF Woodford Equity Income Fund (GB00BLRZQ406) are: pharmaceuticals giants AstraZeneca (AZN), representing 8.3 per cent of the portfolio as at 30 June 2014, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) - 7.11 per cent; and British American Tobacco (BATS) - 6.2 per cent.
The top 10 holdings in his new fund portfolio closely replicate the holdings that formed the lion's share of Mr Woodford's Invesco Perpetual funds. However, there are some new names on the list.
Two stocks did not previously appear in the top 10 holdings of Invesco Perpetual Income or Invesco Perpetual High Income when Mr Woodford was in charge: Imperial Innovations (IVO) - 3.6 per cent of the fund; and Rolls-Royce (RR.) - 3.4 per cent of the fund.
The list includes a further two tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco (IMT) and Reynolds American (RAI: NYQ), and Roche (0QQ6), another drugs maker. Also gaining a place in the top 10 holdings are BT (BT.A) and Capita (CPI).
Mr Woodford says: "My cautious view on the global economy hasn't changed. The liquidity flows that have supported asset prices over the past five years are going into reverse, while growth in many parts of the world is being downgraded.
"The global economy and financial markets both face a tricky time over the next few years, but there are still many undervalued assets in equity markets and it is these opportunities that the fund is seeking to exploit.
"I've been using a pilot analogy to explain the process of building the portfolio of my new fund. We have taken off and we have already gained a lot of height, but we are not yet at cruising altitude. The portfolio will continue to evolve.
"I have been very careful in building a portfolio that avoids sectors that I believe are vulnerable to a faltering global economy. There is significant emphasis in my new fund on the tobacco and pharmaceutical sectors. These two sectors are resilient to falling demand, have strong balance sheets and attractive valuations."
Last month Mr Woodford announced plans to disclose 100 per cent of the fund's holdings on a monthly basis and aims to do so for the first time on 14 July. The hotly anticipated fund raised £1.6bn in assets during its offer period, a record-breaking amount for a newly launched fund in the UK.
CF Woodford Equity Income Fund's top 10 stocks
| Stock | % of portfolio |
| AstraZeneca | 8.30 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | 7.11 |
| British American Tobacco | 6.20 |
| BT | 6.02 |
| Imperial Tobacco | 5.31 |
| Roche | 3.90 |
| Imperial Innovations | 3.60 |
| Reynolds American | 3.55 |
| Rolls-Royce | 3.47 |
| Capita | 3.36 |
Source: Woodford Investments
