Artemis UK Growth Fund
Fund Manager's Comment
Data as at 26 February 2010
The fund rose 2.6% in February and the market gained 2.9% (mid-to-mid). The fund benefited from our holding in VT Group, which is being bid for by Babcock International. Both companies work in technical engineering and training in the defence industry. During the month, we increased our weighting in VT Group to 4% and the shares have gone up by 24%.Our worst performing stock was Babcock, which fell 6% on the other side. The market is worried that Babcock could be overpaying for VT Group. The two companies have now agreed to open their books for further discussion. This should work in our favour: if Babcock is successful in acquiring VT, the combined market cap will be more than £2.5bn, which will make them the largest defence outsourcing company in the UK, as a result eligible to enter the FTSE 100. On the other hand, if Babcock were to withdraw from the bid, the shares will recover.
We continue to favour overseas earners. Around 70% of our holdings’ underlying sales exposure is outside the UK. We prefer emerging markets exposure through the likes of Weir Group, Petrofac, Rotork, Aggreko, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Xstrata. Given our cautious view on the UK economy, the fund should benefit from growth in emerging markets, as well as from a weak sterling.
Fund Manager
Tim Steer
Manager of the Artemis UK Growth Fund Fund since 4 November 2009
Awards
UK Growth PDF| IMA Sector | UK All Companies |
|---|---|
| Sedol Number | 0258326 |
| Fund Size (offer basis) | £307.0m |
| Historic yield | 1.50% |
| Unit offer price | 238.72p |
| Unit bid price | 224.30p |
| Valuation (UK business days) | 12:00 |
| Minimum lump sum investment | £1,000 |
|---|---|
| Minimum monthly investment | £50 |
| Launch | 3 April 1998 |
| Launch price | 100p |
| Preliminary charge | 5.00% |
| Annual Management Fee | 1.50% |
| Unit type | Accumulation |
| Accumulation date | 28 February |
| Total Expense Ratio | 1.63% |
Data as at 26 February 2010.
Performance
| Since Launch* | 5 Years | 3 Years | 1 Year | 6 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Growth Fund (TR)† | 135.5 | -2.0 | -21.0 | 34.8 | 7.7 |
| FTSE All-Share (TR)† | 40.0 | 31.2 | -3.9 | 47.3 | 10.1 |
| FTSE 100 (TR)† | 29.0 | 30.0 | -2.0 | 45.5 | 10.7 |
| Sector Average | 36.6 | 20.4 | -11.1 | 43.7 | 7.8 |
| Position in Sector | 4 | 230 | 247 | 257 | 175 |
| Funds in Sector | 127 | 237 | 281 | 306 | 311 |
| Quartile | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Please remember that past performance is not a guide to the future.
* Data from 3 April 1998. Source: Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested to 26 February 2010. All figures show total returns. †Percentage Growth. Sector is IMA UK All Companies.
Percentage Growth
Artemis UK Growth Fund Fund 12 Months to 30 September 2009
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.0 | -32.6 | -4.7 | 15.7 | 13.6 |
Source: Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested. All figures show total returns.
Value of £1,000 invested at Launch to 26 February 2010.
Data from 3 April 1998. Source Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested to 26 February 2010.
Asset Allocation*
*Without cash. Source: Internal
Top Ten Holdings*
| HSBC | 6.1% |
|---|---|
| BP | 5.1% |
| Weir Group | 4.1% |
| Rio Tinto | 3.9% |
| Vodafone | 3.9% |
| VT Group | 3.7% |
| BG Group | 3.0% |
| BHP Billiton | 3.0% |
| Bluebay Asset Management | 2.9% |
| Babcock International | 2.9% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
Market Sector Split*
| Industrial Goods & Services | 21.1% |
|---|---|
| Oil & Gas | 12.7% |
| Basic Resources | 11.8% |
| Retail | 11.1% |
| Banks | 10.0% |
| Financial Services | 5.8% |
| Healthcare | 5.7% |
| Telecommunications | 4.8% |
| Travel & Leisure | 4.6% |
| Other | 12.4% |
* Without cash.
Sector classification: FTSE Acturaries
Source: Internal.
% Variance†*
| Weir Group | 4.0% |
|---|---|
| VT Group | 3.8% |
| Bluebay Asset Management | 2.9% |
| Halfords Group | 2.9% |
| Babcock International | 2.8% |
| Petrofac | 2.4% |
| Spirent Communications | 2.0% |
| Sportingbet | 2.0% |
| Majestic Wine | 1.8% |
| Abcam | 1.7% |
† Positive variance between stock % held in the Fund versus FTSE All-Share.
Risk Warning
Issued by Artemis Fund Managers Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (www.fsa.gov.uk), 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS and is a member of the IMA. Artemis Fund Managers Ltd is a member of the Artemis Marketing Group. We only market our own unit trusts. The value of an investment, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise as result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Investment in the securities of smaller and/or medium sized companies can involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investment in larger, more established companies. The market for securities in smaller companies is often less liquid than that for securities in larger companies, meaning above average price movements both positive and negative can be expected.
All data is sourced internally unless otherwise stated.
The historic yield reflects distributions declared over the past twelve months as a percentage of the mid-market unit price, as at the date shown. It does not include any preliminary charge and investors may be subject to tax on their distributions.
