This fund has a very well-diversified portfolio of almost 250 stocks, with one third of assets featuring in the largest constituents of the UK stock market. Hugh Sergeant, manager since its launch in 2008, has an impressive track record over three decades of investing.

The fund invests in recovery stocks – good businesses that are currently experiencing below-normal profit levels – which are depressing their valuations. To warrant inclusion in the portfolio, a company must have capabilities to help itself out of this predicament. Sergeant adds holdings at fire-sale prices in volatile times. This increases the possibility of long-term capital gains, as well as a performance profile that deviates significantly from the benchmark FTSE All-Share index.

Head of UK equities at River & Mercantile, Sergeant believes it is crucial to meet company management first to ensure they are the right people to set their company on the path to recovery. The investment team has developed an individual philosophy and process called PVT: potential, value and timing. It is this quantitative process that underpins their investment choices. The nature of the fund is to find stocks that have been beaten up by the market, so sentiment could continue to go against them. As a result, investors in this fund should expect to encounter a bumpy ride from time to time.

In August 2020 Sergeant argued 10 key tests have been passed for value to make a comeback. Read the article

September 2020