In the retail market, New Star Investment Funds launched the New Star Higher Income Fund. Managed by Toby Thompson, whose former fund, Newton Higher Income, was highly acclaimed, the fund aims to provide investors with an increasing income stream coupled with the potential for attractive long-term capital appreciation. Toby's "sentiment contrarian" approach involves buying shares that are out of fashion and yield 120% [1] or more of the yield on the FTSE All-Share Index. Once the yield returns to the average, he sells.
New Star Higher Income raised £96.2 million in the initial three-week launch period, making it one of the most successful funds of the 2002 ISA season. By the end of the ISA season, New Star Investment Funds' retail sales totalled more than £675 million, a sum raised from more than 60,000 investors.
In the offshore market, New Star International Investment Products launched the New Star Capital Guaranteed European Hedge Fund, a long/short pan-European equity fund with a rising capital guarantee provided by HSBC Bank. The fund closed in April having raised more than US$130 million.
New Star International Investment Products launched New Star Global Investment Funds PLC, a Dublin-based OEIC initially comprising a range of six actively managed funds offering three currency classes of share. The initial funds within the offshore OEIC were the New Star Asian Opportunities Fund, the New Star European Growth Fund, the New Star Global Emerging Markets Fund, the New Star Japan Recovery Fund, the New Star UK Dynamic Fund and the New Star US Opportunities Fund.
New Star's fund management team gained a new "star" manager in March with the recruitment of Patrick Evershed, one of the top-performing fund managers in the UK All Companies sector in 2001. From 1991 Patrick managed the Rathbone Special Situations Fund, which is AA rated by Standard & Poor's. The fund rose by 384% over the last 10 years of his management and 127% over last three, producing highly impressive out-performance against the stockmarket, which returned just 173% and -1% over the same periods [2].
In May Patrick's new fund, the New Star Select Opportunities Fund, was launched. It focusses on undervalued opportunities, primarily within the UK smaller companies sector, but also has the flexibility to buy larger companies when economic conditions dictate.
At the end of May, New Star International Investment Products launched the New Star Capital Guaranteed Asian Hedge Fund, a long/short Asian equity fund with a rising capital guarantee provided by HSBC Bank. The fund closed in August and raised more than $32.5m.
Sources
[1] Standard & Poors offer to offer net re-invested income from 1.4.96 to 2.7.01
[2] Standard & Poors offer to offer net income re-invested to 1.2.02, Rathbone Special Situations Fund against the FTSE All Share.