Skandia Investment Group (SIG) removes £7m Best Ideas mandate from Gartmore

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has removed a £7m UK Strategic Best Ideas mandate from Gartmore’s Ben Wallace following disappointing returns on the mandate. The mandate will be reallocated the remaining seven managers.
Launched just over three years ago, UKSBI – the only long/short UCITS III multi manager fund in the IMA’s UK All Companies sector – has delivered exceptional performance, outperforming the FTSE All Share Index by over 10% since its launch in September 2007, so placing the fund firmly in the top quartile of its sector.*
The fund’s performance has also been matched by a lower than average volatility profile than the average long only fund in its sector so increasing its attraction to those investors who seek lower volatility without sacrificing returns over the long term.
However, according to senior fund manager Ryan Hughes, the Gartmore mandate has lagged behind the rest of the other managers.
“We rate Ben highly as a manager although he has not managed to recapture the strong performance of his UK equity long/short funds in a concentrated 10 stock Best Ideas portfolio. Given the strength of the other managers in the fund, we have taken the decision to reallocate the capital across these managers to build on the excellent track record of the fund” said Hughes.
Skandia UK Strategic Best Ideas is currently managed by seven leading UK based long/short equity managers: Paul Casson of Henderson, Richard Plackett of BlackRock, Tim Steer of Artemis, Phil Hardy of Polar Capital, Mark Lyttleton of BlackRock, Colin McLean of SVM and Julius Lipner of Aviva Investors.
* Source: Financial Express, 19th September 2007 to 6th December 2010, bid to bid, net income reinvested.