Portfolio Adviser fund AwArds 2008 CAtegory winner
Fund Awards 2008
WINNER
Neptune European Opportunities Fund
Neptune’s Rob Burnett
“
Rob has more than
proved his mettle in
the past three years,
successfully combining
top-down views with
bottom-up analysis,
showing a clean pair
of heels to very many
of the better-known
managers
”
Mark Dampier, PA Fund
Awards judge
European equities
The Neptune European
Opportunities Fund was
launched in 2002, the same
year Rob Burnett joined the
group, and was taken on by
Burnett as manager in 2005.
Burnett himself is also
responsible for researching
the financial sector so possibly
understands better the impact
of the unwinding of credit
on that particular sector than
others in his position.
As at the end of the third
quarter, Burnett explains
his fund’s position as:
“The Neptune European
Opportunities Fund is in a
Annual discrete performance
%
50
40
30
20
10
-10
Neptune European Opportunities
Source: Morningstar
0
Quartile performance: 1 Jul ’05 – 1 Jul ’08
1st q’tile
2nd q’tile
3rd q’tile
4th q’tile
Q3
’05
Q4
’05
Source: Morningstar
Q1
’06
Q2
’06
Q3
’06
Portfolio ADViSEr SuPPlEmEnt [www.portfolio-adviser.com] DEcEmbEr 2008
neptune european opportunities vs index
%
100
80
60
40
20
0
Jul ’05 Jan ’06
Source: Morningstar
fund facts
defensive stance in non-cyclical
businesses with strong bal-
Q4
’06
M’star UK Equity Europe ex UK
Neptune European
Opportunities
Year ending Jun ’06
Year ending Jun ’07
Year ending Jun ’08
Jul
Fund name: Neptune European Opportunities Manager: Rob Burnett
Launch date: 29 Nov ’02 Fund size: £445.98m Initial charge: 5%
Annual charge: 1.75% Min initial investment: £1,000 M’star rating: HHHHH
Q1
’07
Q2
’07
Q3
’07
Q4
’07
Q1
’08
Q2
’08
Jan ’07
M’star UK Equity Europe ex UK
Jul
ance sheets, and we are also
holding cash.
“In the current environment,
those companies exposed
to conventional economic
expansion are vulnerable.
This includes many sectors
within the European index.
The fund is most underweight
and cautious of conventional
industrials and materials. The
fund’s largest overweights are
in pharmaceuticals and consumer
staples.
“We will continue to be
positioned as such until we
can see the transmission
mechanism between central
banks and the economy working
again.”
As at the end of the third
quarter of 2008, Burnett held
more than 25% of his fund in
financials.
Overall, the £500m fund
will typically look to hold
between 45 and 55 stocks and
is unconstrained.
Jan ’08
Jul
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