New Star UK Alpha Fund Class R Accumulation Units

There is little doubt that in times of difficult markets it is crucial to find quality fund managers who are doing something a little different with their portfolios. One such manager is Tim Steer who manages the New Star UK Alpha Fund.

Tim Steer has a reputation for avoiding disastrous stocks through his diligent reading of company accounts. He has avoided the commercial property shares and more recently the banks which have had their fair share of troubles. His portfolio is currently biased towards companies with international exposure and has invested in themes including power generation, infrastructure, engineering, defence and mining.

It is clear that the world’s big growth area is Asia and emerging markets and firms with a high exposure to these areas are being favoured by Tim Steer. Many of these are in the larger companies which account for 65% of the overall portfolio.

Significant positions are held in companies like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton which are benefiting from the strong demand for resources in Asia and emerging markets. Additionally, Tim Steer also likes Aggreko, whose business is portable electricity generators that are in huge demand in places like Africa.

A few years ago we removed this fund from the Wealth 150, which with the benefit of hindsight we can see was a mistake. Tim Steer has proved to be exceptionally adaptive and flexible in times of uncertainty and he has shown a real willingness to move his portfolio around to suit market conditions. It may be tough for the UK market, but opportunities are always thrown up and we believe fund managers like Tim Steer are in a good position to take advantage of such opportunities.

We believe Tim Steer has the ability to reward long term investors in a variety of market conditions, and have therefore added the New Star UK Alpha Fund back to the Wealth 150, a list of our favourite funds in each sector.