Earlier this year, Schroder UK Mid & Small Cap Fund changed its name to the Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund, to reflect a tighter focus on companies in the FTSE 250 index.
The trust's investment managers believe there are many attractive investment opportunities among mid-caps, and note the high level of acquisition activity in this area. Mid-caps are also easier to buy and sell than small-caps, allowing the fund to trade shares without adversely affecting their price. There are also far fewer mid-cap than small-cap funds.
Historically, Schroder UK Mid Cap has a very strong performance record, having outperformed the FTSE 250 and its sector peers over one, three and five years. How it will perform under its new mandate, however, remains to be seen.
One of the fund's co-managers, Andy Brough, also runs an open-ended mid-cap fund, which has performed poorly in recent years. The overlap in holdings is around 50 per cent, and the trust can still hold small-caps, including holdings which have dropped out of the FTSE 250 and ones which the managers expect to become mid-caps. Around 10 per cent of the portfolio is in small-caps, though this is expected to reduce.
Even though the trust appears weighted to industrials, with two-fifths of holdings in this area, it is a very diverse sector that encompasses many sub-sectors.The trust levies a performance fee of 0.1 per cent of average assets for each 1 per cent outperformance of the benchmark over 0.8 per cent, up to a maximum of 1 per cent.
SCHRODER UK MID CAP FUND (SCP) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | 281p | NAV | 316.02p |
| MARKET CAP | £99.7m | PRICE DISCOUNT TO NAV | 12.96% |
| No OF HOLDINGS: | 75* | 1-YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE | 34.46% |
| SET UP DATE | 18 May 1983 | 3-YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE | 57.17% |
| MANAGER START DATE | 1 May 2003 | 5-YEAR NAV PERFORMANCE | 59.17% |
| TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.30% | YIELD | 2.12% |
| GEARING | 109% | MORE DETAILS | www.schroders.com |
Source: Investors Chronicle, *Schroders.
Performance data as at 22 July 2011.
TOP 10 HOLDINGS as at 31 May.
| Holding | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Premier Oil | 2.8 |
| Elementis | 2.6 |
| Travis Perkins | 2.1 |
| Ashtead Group | 2.1 |
| Domino Printing Sciences | 2 |
| Fidessa Group | 2 |
| HomeServe Group | 2 |
| Lamprell | 2 |
| SIG | 1.9 |
| Diploma | 1.9 |
Sector breakdown
| Sector | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Industrials | 40.7 |
| Consumer services | 14.4 |
| Consumer goods | 10.3 |
| Financials | 9.1 |
| Oil & gas | 9 |
| Basic materials | 7.4 |
| Technology | 6.6 |
| Health care | 2.1 |
| Utilities | 1.6 |
