Artemis UK Special Situations Fund
Fund Manager's Comment
Data as at 30 December 2011
The market maintained its volatile path right to the year-end. Whilst there is progress in the recognition of debt’s problems, the solutions will take some time. Expect 2012 to be another volatile year. We continue to focus on the companies. Here the story is somewhat better as the balance sheet problems of three years ago have generally been sorted out and most sensible managements remain focused on self-help.
Companies continue to report. Two of our longer term holdings produced good results in December: Domino Printing and Victrex. Both management teams have experienced various economic cycles and both have performed well during the recent economic turbulence. In the case of Domino. the management have laid out some challenging targets for the next few years, reflecting their confidence in new products and business initiatives. Victrex too will benefit from introducing their PEEK polymer into new applications. Both management teams remain focused on growing their niches and both remain strongly financed businesses. Any short term disappointments will be used as buying opportunities. Microfocus, one of our more volatile investments over the past year, has (literally) started paying dividends. The company announced in December that it would return £84m (45p per share) of capital to shareholders. This is after an already significant share buyback and highlights the company’s strong cash generation. The management have instigated a number of improvements; and we hope this will produce some revenue growth to accompany this strong cashflow. Even after a strong performance in the second half of last year the shares are still trading on a double digit free cashflow yield. We have been adding to our position.
Fund Manager
Derek Stuart
Manager of the Artemis UK Special Situations Fund Fund since launch
Co-Fund Manager
Ruth Keattch
Co-Manager of the Artemis UK Special Situations Fund Fund since 1 December 2008
Awards
UK Special Situations PDFKey Facts
| IMA Sector | UK All Companies |
|---|---|
| Sedol Number | 0219226 |
| Fund Size (offer basis) | £1032.0m |
| Historic yield | 1.50% |
| Unit offer price | 353.59p |
| Unit bid price | 331.37p |
| Valuation (UK business days) | 12:00 |
| Minimum lump sum investment | £1,000 |
|---|---|
| Minimum monthly investment | £50 |
| Launch | 9 March 2000 |
| Launch price | 100p |
| Preliminary charge | 5.25% |
| Annual Management Fee | 1.50% |
| Unit type | Accumulation |
| Accumulation date | 28 February |
| Total Expense Ratio | 1.55% |
Data as at 30 December 2011.
Performance
| Since Launch* | 5 Years | 3 Years | 1 Year | 6 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Special Situations Fund (TR)† | 248.8 | 2.6 | 37.4 | -8.5 | -11.5 |
| FTSE All-Share (TR)† | 33.9 | 6.2 | 43.9 | -3.5 | -6.2 |
| FTSE 100 (TR)† | 26.8 | 7.9 | 40.3 | -2.2 | -4.8 |
| Sector Average | 22.1 | -2.0 | 42.1 | -7.1 | -8.4 |
| Position in Sector | 1 | 99 | 162 | 188 | 234 |
| Funds in Sector | 139 | 243 | 271 | 284 | 287 |
| Quartile | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Please remember that past performance is not a guide to the future.
* Data from 9 March 2000. Source: Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested to 30 December 2011. All figures show total returns. †Percentage Growth. Sector is IMA UK All Companies.
Percentage Growth
Artemis UK Special Situations Fund Fund 12 Months to 31 December 2009
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -8.5 | 19.5 | 25.6 | -28.2 | 3.9 |
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 30 December 2011.
Data from 9 March 2000. Source Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested to 30 December 2011.
Asset Allocation*
*Without cash. Source: Internal
Top Ten Holdings*
| BP | 5.5% |
|---|---|
| GlaxoSmithKline | 4.6% |
| Vodafone | 4.0% |
| BT Group | 4.0% |
| Reed Elsevier | 3.7% |
| BG Group | 3.5% |
| ITV | 3.5% |
| Unilever | 3.3% |
| Premier Oil | 2.8% |
| Devro | 2.7% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
Market Sector Split*
| Oil & Gas | 18.6% |
|---|---|
| Industrial Goods & Services | 16.7% |
| Healthcare | 13.7% |
| Media | 10.2% |
| Food & Beverage | 9.4% |
| Telecommunications | 8.0% |
| Technology | 5.8% |
| Insurance | 4.9% |
| Financial Services | 3.6% |
| Other | 9.1% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
% Variance†*
† 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.
