SIG moves £46m Skandia Global Best Ideas Fund mandate to Tom Marsico at Marsico Capital Management

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) is moving a £46m global equities mandate – one of ten in its £310m* Global Best Ideas Fund – to Tom Marsico at Marsico Capital Management.
Skandia Global Best Ideas is a top quartile performing fund. It has returned 27% since its launch in June 2006 against a peer group return for the IMA Active Managed sector of 19.01%*
Tom Marsico is no stranger to managing highly focused portfolios having done so since the 1980’s. Also relevant to the SIG’s Best Ideas fund range is the fact that he’s been managing a ten stock portfolio for a North American client since 2000.
According to Lee Freeman Shor, SIG portfolio manager:
“Upon analysis of Tom Marsico’s ten stock mandate we noted that not only has it generated persistent alpha, but also, SIG’s trading analysis demonstrated that Marsico’s ideas, and the execution of those ideas, has been very good over the last ten years. Moreover, he is passionate about focused investing.”
SIG is moving the £46m mandate from Martin Currie not because it has lost faith in the firm but because it believes Tom Marsico’s approach has proved to be better suited to the ten stock portfolio approach in the most recent trading environment and that of the foreseeable future. In particular, Tom Marsico’s mix of macro and shorter term trading around names held is seen as highly desirable in a ten stock mandate.
SIG portfolio manger François Zagamé said, “In a world where macro views are as important as bottom up stock picking Tom’s approach is highly suited to this environment. It’s a combination top down macro views, industry themes, and detailed fundamental stock analysis. Tom mitigates risk and maximises his chance of success by holding three types of business model (life cycle stocks, core growth stocks, and aggressive growth stocks) while be very active in his trading around the names held. This approach suits the trading environment that has developed since we first launched Global Best Ideas – an environment we believe is likely to continue for some time.”
* The Skandia Global Best Ideas fund has returned 27% since its launch in June 2006 (1^st quartile) against a peer group return for the IMA Active Managed sector of 19.01%. Over the 12 months to November 4^th 2010 the fund is first quartile, having returned 24.19% against a peer group return of 15.40% (basis: bid to bid net income reinvested). The fund is currently just over £310m. (Source: financial express 4^th November 2010).