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020 7189 9999
The fund aims to capture capital growth while protecting the portfolio from potential downside by investing in continental European equities. Fund manager Richard Pease favours quality companies, defined as those able to sustain high returns over the long-term and able to weather economic cycles. He invests in companies of all sizes and the portfolio typically has a higher weighting in lesser-known small and mid-cap stocks compared to the index and his peers. He also favours dividend-paying companies, so the fund typically pays a reasonable yield.
| Sector | Europe Excluding UK | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | OEIC | |
| Launched | June, 2015 | |
| Size | £2,070m | |
| Yield | 2.1% | |
| Charging basis | Capital | |
| Dividends paid | 31 May, 30 Nov | |
| Standard initial charge | 0.00% |
|---|---|
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 0.75% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.86% |
Before investing make sure you have understood the risks relevant to the fund by reviewing our Risk Warnings section. Further information on the risks are contained in the fund's Key Information Investor Document, which we make available to you before you make a decision to invest, alternatively it is available on request.
Richard Pease has a long and successful track record in the European sector, having generated substantial outperformance at Jupiter in the 1990s and later at New Star and Henderson. He set up CRUX in 2015, taking this fund with him, and has continued his success. As well as strong relative returns his funds have also displayed defensive characteristics, with lower than market volatility and an element of downside protection. He benefits from the support of co-manager James Milne, who he has worked with for more than a decade. Pease also runs the CRUX European fund, which is similar but has with more exposure to larger companies.
| Allocation | Proportion(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | 97 | |
| High yield bonds | 0 | |
| Quality bonds | 0 | |
| Property | 0 | |
| Commodities | 0 | |
| Hedge | 0 | |
| Fund cash | 3 | |
| Allocation | Proportion(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 5 | |
| Europe | 93 | |
| North America | 2 | |
| Japan | 0 | |
| Pacific | 0 | |
| Emerging Markets | 0 | |
| Allocation | Proportion(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Large Caps | 35 | |
| Mid Caps | 43 | |
| Small Caps | 22 | |
The fund’s investible universe is 3,000 continental European companies. Ideas are sourced from quant screens, management meetings, company/industry/analyst reports, and peer/customer reviews. The portfolio often includes a few UK and US companies – these are typically identified during reviews of the global peer group. Stock selection is almost entirely bottom-up, with Pease looking for four key criteria in companies: Business Strategy. Pease targets companies able to generate a superior return on capital employed (ROCE) over a long period and able to weather economic cycles. Typically these will have pricing power and be protected by barriers to entry. Quality of management. Pease looks for managers with proven track records, equity participation in the business and a realistic business plan. Sound finances. Capital intensive companies, those with high debt and those with unsustainably low tax rates are avoided. Attractive valuation. Pease describes his style as Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) and will avoid stocks with a PE above 20, unless they pay a high dividend. Companies with no dividend are typically avoided. He typically avoids commodity-related businesses, banks and insurance companies, those with high capex and those with regulatory risk.
| Bid price(inc) | 229.68p |
|---|---|
| Accum units | 285.76p |
| Fund commentary | 10/01/18 |
| Fund data updated on | 25/05/18 |
| Allocation | Proportion(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | 97 | |
| High yield bonds | 0 | |
| Quality bonds | 0 | |
| Property | 0 | |
| Commodities | 0 | |
| Hedge | 0 | |
| Fund cash | 3 | |
| Allocation | Proportion(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 5 | |
| Europe | 93 | |
| North America | 2 | |
| Japan | 0 | |
| Pacific | 0 | |
| Emerging Markets | 0 | |
| Allocation |
Propor tion(%) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Large Caps | 35 | |
| Mid Caps | 43 | |
| Small Caps | 22 | |
As at: 31/03/2018
4.0588%Aroundtown Property Hldgs
3.2749%Iss Holdings
3.0365%Relx Nv
2.7898%Wolters-Kluwer Nv
2.7597%Aurelius Equity Opps Se & Co Kgaa
2.7302%Trelleborg Ab Ord
2.6755%Kion Group Ag
2.5568%Novartis Ag
2.5549%Sika Ag
2.4911%Spie
Source: Trustnet
| Services | 23% |
|---|---|
| Capital Goods | 18% |
| Software | 8% |
| Materials | 8% |
| Biotechnology/Medical | 7% |
| Real Estate | 6% |
| Financials | 6% |
| Banks | 5% |
| Money Market | 4% |
| Media | 3% |
40-80 stocks.
Max 5% UK, max 10% ex Europe. There are no other country or sector constraints.
The portfolio usually has very little commonality with the benchmark and so performance can be expected to differ markedly on occasions.
| Average monthly relative returns | Bestinvest MRI | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 3 years | 5 years | Career | 3 years | 5 years | Career | |
| -0.45% | 0.34% | 0.82% | -0.21% | -0.10% | 0.17% | 0.08% | 0.42% | 82.10% | 81.10% | 100.00% | |
| Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index. | |||||||||||
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Pease began his career at Knight Frank & Rutley as a graduate trainee, before moving to the Central Board of Finance for the Church of England where he ran two funds. He moved to Windsor Investment Management in 1987 where he set up and ran the European Unit Trust. In 1989 he joined Jupiter, running the Jupiter European fund and heading up a five-strong team. He joined New Star in May 2001 and then Henderson when it acquired New Star in 2009 and was a Director of European Equities there from April 2009 - May 2015. In June 2015 Pease set up Crux, bringing his European Special Situations with him from Henderson. He holds a BA in General Arts from Durham University.
Richard Pease has 28 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.42%. During the worst period of relative performance (from September 1990 - February 1993) there was a decline of 18% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 40%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is more than 99%.
| Periods of worst performance | |
|---|---|
| Absolute | -40% (August 2000 - September 2002) |
| Relative | -18% (September 1990 - February 1993) |
Our unique indicator: the Bestinvest Manager Record Index (MRI) measures the likelihood that the fund manager is adding value through their decisions. It is based on their performance record over the course of their career, adjusted for the amount of risk taken. MRI is an important contributor to our fund rating system but it is also vital to take account of qualitative factors. It is also very important to select funds to form a cohesive portfolio with an appropriate overall risk level.
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