Gartmore UK Focus Accumulation Shares

Our view on this Fund Management Group as a whole

This is one of the larger groups which went into decline in the 1990s but has repositioned itself to make a strong comeback in the UK. Gartmore has been managing investments for over 30 years and became involved in managing hedge funds in 1999. They have evolved from being a leading provider of balanced and indexed funds for UK pension funds to a specialist in delivering superior returns through their retail funds and alternative investments. In May 2006, Gartmore announced a dynamic new ownership structure. In partnership with Hellman & Friedman (H&F), one of the world's leading private equity firms, a number of their senior executives and fund managers purchased Gartmore from its parent company Nationwide. This represents one of the largest management buyouts in the European asset management market. This independent structure is a powerful mechanism that delivers two key benefits: alignment and stability. Alignment; when it comes to performance, their fund managers' interests are united with those of the clients. And stability; their stakeholder-centric ownership strengthens, not only their ability to retain, but also to attract, outstanding investment talent.

13-09-2007