SF t1ps Smaller Cos Gold joins the fray

The fund aims for capital growth by investing at least 80 per cent of its core portfolio in companies which are predominantly involved in mining, exploration, development and production of gold, which its managers expect to do well if the gold price rises. The fund hopes to take advantage of companies at various stages of development.

Up to 20 per cent of the portfolio can be invested in companies involved in mining and production of silver and other precious metals, while a maximum of 10 per cent can be invested in unlisted securities.

The fund is run by the three-strong investment team at T1ps Asset Management which includes co-manager Tom Winnifrith, a former Investors Chronicle journalist who moved into fund management in 2007. Co-manager Robert Sutherland-Smith is a professional fund manager whose former positions include manager on the Unilever Pension Fund, head of financial & investment management research at Samuel Montagu and director of County Bank Investment Managers.

The team's other mandates include SF T1ps Smaller Companies Fund which outperformed its peer group average in 2008, and according to some data providers was the top fund in the Smaller Companies sector that year. It also outperformed its sector average in 2009 but year to date is one of the poorest performers in its sector.

Although the investment team does not have a specialism in mining or commodities, Malcolm Burne, chairman of T1ps Asset Management's parent company Rivington Street Holdings, will provide advice. He was previously an investment manager at metals and mining broker Ambrian Capital and has been a director of 20 companies, mainly involved in mineral resources and gold exploration.

Source: T1ps Investment Management, *Morningstar

Performance figures as at 18 June 2010

Top 10 holdings at at May 2010

Listing allocation