Fund Guide
UK Equity Unconstrained Fund
October 2014
This document is for investment professionals only and
should not be distributed to or relied upon by retail clients.
It is only intended for use in jurisdictions where the relevant
funds are authorised for distribution or where no such
authorisation is required.
About Standard Life Investments
Standard Life Investments is a leading asset manager with an expanding
global reach. Our wide range of investment solutions is backed by our
distinctive Focus on Change investment philosophy, disciplined risk
management and shared commitment to a culture of investment excellence.
As active managers, we place significant
emphasis on rigorous research and a strong
collaborative ethos. We constantly think
ahead and strive to anticipate change before it
happens, ensuring that our clients can look to
the future with confidence.
As at 30 June 2014, Standard Life Investments
managed £195.1 billion on behalf of clients
worldwide. Our investment capabilities span
equities, fixed income, real estate, private
equity, multi-asset solutions, fund-of-funds and
absolute return strategies.
With its headquarters in Edinburgh, Standard
Life Investments employs more than 1,300
talented professionals. We maintain offices
in a number of locations around the world,
including Beijing, Boston, Dublin, Hong Kong,
London, Montreal, Paris, Seoul and Sydney.
We also have close relationships with leading
domestic players in Asia, including HDFC Asset
Management in India and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust
Bank in Japan.
Our parent company, Standard Life plc, was
established in 1825. One of the UK’s foremost
institutions, it floated on the London Stock
Exchange in 2006 and is now a FTSE 100-listed
company. Standard Life Investments launched
as a separate company in 1998 and has quickly
established a reputation for innovation in pursuit
of our clients’ investment objectives.
Our investors rank among some of the world’s
most sophisticated and high-profile institutions.
They include pension plans, banks, mutual
funds, insurance companies, fund-of-fund
managers, endowments, foundations, charities,
official institutions, sovereign wealth funds and
government authorities.
Contents
1 The power of
unconstrained potential
- Why choose the UK Equity
Unconstrained Fund?
2 Investment philosophy
and process
- Putting the process to work
3 Our UK equities team
4 Fund information
5 Contact details
The power of unconstrained potential
Originally, stock market indices were established to measure the performance
of a selection of equities within a particular geographic area. Over time,
many of them were also adopted as benchmarks against which to measure
the performance of investment portfolios. Today, most active investment
managers aim to outperform a chosen index. In doing so, though, they may
need to closely reference the index in order to meet the risk parameters set
out in the fund’s investment objectives. As a result, they may end up holding
stocks in which they do not have a particularly high conviction.
As its name implies, an unconstrained portfolio
need not invest in low-conviction stocks –
indeed, it has the flexibility to draw from any part
of the investment universe, from small companies
through to index heavyweights. Unconstrained
from investing in particular stocks, sectors or
market capitalisation ranges, managers can
build portfolios that focus purely on their most
favoured equities, appropriately diversified.
The UK Equity Unconstrained Fund is a concentrated
portfolio of the best stock ideas generated by
Standard Life Investments’ well-established UK
equities team. Although the Fund is not run against
an ‘official’ index, its performance is monitored
against the FTSE 350 Equally Weighted Index (ex
Investment Trusts). In this index, each stock has the
same weighting, effectively creating a proxy for the
‘average’ stock in the UK market. Since it was first
compiled by Standard Life Investments in October
2005, the index has significantly outperformed
the broader UK market. The Fund, therefore, aims
to outperform an index that, over time, has proven
capable of generating stronger returns than the
wider UK stock market.
Is there a better UK benchmark?
300
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
2006
2007
FTSE 350 ex IT Equally Weighted
2008
2009
FTSE 100
2010
FTSE 250
2011
FTSE All Share
2012
2013
Source: Standard Life Investments; Thomson Datastream, based on total returns, 30 September 2005 to 30 June 2014. Fund
returns are net of charges.
Why choose the UK Equity Unconstrained Fund?
¬ T
he purest reflection of our investment
approach – stock selection is driven by
conviction and reflects most strongly our
best investment ideas – stocks that are
underappreciated by the market and have the
potential for impressive long-term returns.
¬ T
he ability to respond quickly to a volatile
investment environment – a flexible
mandate allows the Fund to reflect
changing market conditions and take
advantage of stock opportunities as they
arise, regardless of market capitalisation
or sector.
¬ R
obust risk/reward focus – we closely
monitor risk levels in the Fund and give
greater weighting to investment ideas
where companies have a good track record
and a strong balance sheet. We give smaller
positions to companies that may have
greater return potential but where there are
greater perceived company-specific risks.
UK Equity Unconstrained Fund
1
Investment philosophy and process
Our Focus on Change philosophy is the bedrock of our investment process.
We recognise that different factors drive markets at different times in the
investment cycle. Our philosophy is not inherently growth or value biased,
nor is it momentum driven. This gives us the opportunity to outperform
throughout the economic cycle. We enforce discipline around our application
of the philosophy by sticking to a common investment language. This consists
of five questions that are applied to all our investment decisions, from stock
selection and asset allocation to macroeconomic analysis.
Analysis
¬ What are the drivers?
¬ What is changing?
¬ What is priced in?
Judgement
¬ Why will the market change its mind?
¬ What is the trigger?
Putting the process to work
An unconstrained strategy gives investment
managers the relative freedom to pick stocks
and construct portfolios without regard to a
benchmark. Therefore, a rigorous and dynamic
approach to stock selection is essential.
At Standard Life Investments, we take a highconviction, bottom-up approach to identify
stocks where we believe the consensus opinion
is wrong. To do this, we use a wide range of
indicators, including company visits, quantitative
research and traditional valuation measures.
As a research-intensive investment house, we
place face-to-face meetings at the heart of our
process. Each year, our UK equities managers
hold more than 1,000 meetings with the senior
management of companies in which we are
considering investing or whose shares we
already hold.
Our equities research capability spans the
full FTSE 350 Index and beyond, thanks to our
well-established smaller companies team.
And because we manage £30 billion* in UK
equities, we have access to the most senior
company management.
The insights gained from these company
meetings are supplemented by the Matrix,
our internally developed screening tool. It
assists our stock selection process and helps
to identify companies with improving or
deteriorating characteristics. The Matrix focuses
on companies within the FTSE 350 and smallcap indices, all of which are regularly screened.
In adding value to our process, it has proven to
be a highly effective tool.
Effective cross-team communication is another
cornerstone of our investment process. The
research of our UK equities team is enhanced
by working closely with colleagues on our
global equities, corporate bonds and corporate
governance teams, to best exploit the synergies
that lead to long-term rewards.
*Source: Standard Life Investments, as at 30 June 2014
2
UK Equity Unconstrained Fund
Our UK equities team
Standard Life Investments’ reputation as a leading investment manager is
based on the exceptional quality of its people. We have never embraced
a ‘star fund manager’ mentality. Our award-winning UK equities team is
testament to the benefits of our team-based approach, actively sharing ideas
across asset classes, business areas and geographic regions.
This co-ordinated way of working strikes an ideal
balance between the team’s collective effort and
its individual talents. Pooling the knowledge,
skills and resources of all our people is critical
to generating the investment insights that can
make the difference.
With an average of 18 years’ industry
experience, our 16-strong UK equities team
maintains comprehensive coverage of the UK
investment universe. Our portfolio managers
have been with Standard Life Investments for an
average of 12 years, creating an environment
of stability and consistency among the team.
Each team member is a specialist in a particular
sector. In addition, our fund managers carry out
the dual role of fund manager and analyst. This
keeps them close to the companies in which
their funds invest.
Our collaborative approach ensures that we
harness our best stock-picking ideas to our
clients’ utmost advantage.
Meet the manager
Citywire AA-rated Ed Legget is an Investment Director within the UK equities team and has
managed the UK Equity Unconstrained Fund since April 2008. He is also responsible for
analysing the chemicals, electronics, engineering and transport sectors. Ed joined Standard Life
Investments in September 2002 after graduating from the University of Cambridge with an MEng
Honours in Manufacturing Engineering. He obtained his CFA charter in 2005.
Ed Legget
Fund Manager
UK Equity Unconstrained Fund
3
Fund Information*
Fund objective
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth by investing in UK equities. The Fund typically holds a
concentrated portfolio of stocks and is actively managed by our investment team, who will select
stocks, without reference to index weight or size, to try to take advantage of opportunities it has
identified. Due to the unconstrained nature of the Fund, investors must be willing to accept a
relatively high degree of stock-specific risk.
Fund details
Fund manager
Edward Legget
Launch date
29 September 2005
IMA sector
IMA UK All Companies
Benchmark
IMA UK All Companies
Base currency
GBP
Current fund size
£1,157.3 million
Type of shares
Accumulation
XD dates
30 April, 31 October
Distribution dates
30 June, 28 (29) February
Retail
Acc
Retail
Inc
Initial charge
4.0%
Annual management charge
1.80%
Ongoing charges
Minimum lump sum
Minimum regular investment
Inst
Inc
Platform
Acc
Platform
Inc
N/A
0%
N/A
0.80%
N/A
0%
N/A
N/A
1.00%
1.90%
N/A
N/A
0.90%
N/A
1.15%
£1,000
N/A
N/A
£5,000,000
N/A
£2,000,000
N/A
£100
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
SLUEURA:LN
N/A
STUKEQI:LN
N/A
SLUEUP1:LN
N/A
65009786
N/A
65009785
N/A
68165446
N/A
GB00B0LD3B90
N/A
GB00B0LD3C08
N/A
GB00B7LK2232
N/A
B0LD3B9
N/A
B0LD3C0
N/A
B7LK223
N/A
Bloomberg
Lipper
ISIN
Inst
Acc
SEDOL
* Fund information as at 30 June 2014
Risk and reward profile
For further information on different shareclasses and charges, please read the Prospectus and Key
Investor Information Document (KIID) that can be found in the literature section of our website
www.standardlifeinvestments.co.uk.
4
UK Equity Unconstrained Fund
Contact details
For further details on our UK Equity Unconstrained Fund, please speak to your Standard Life
Investments Sales Manager or Standard Life Account Manager.
Contact numbers
Market information
Customer information
standardlifeinvestments.co.uk
0845 60 60 062
0845 27 93 003
This material is for informational purposes only. This should not be relied upon as a forecast,
research or investment advice. It does not constitute an offer, or solicitation of an offer, to sell or
buy any securities or an endorsement with respect to any investment vehicle.
The opinions expressed are those of Standard Life Investments and are subject to change at any
time due to changes in market or economic conditions.
UK Equity Unconstrained Fund
5
The value of an investment can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You may get back less
than you put in.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
This material is for informational purposes only. This should not be relied upon as a forecast,
research or investment advice. it does not constitute an offer, or solicitation of an offer, to sell or
buy any securities or an endorsement with respect to any investment vehicle.
The opinions expressed are those of Standard Life Investments and are subject to change at any
time due to changes in market or economic conditions.
standardlifeinvestments.com
Standard Life Investments Limited is registered in Scotland (SC123321) at 1 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LL. Standard Life Investments
Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Calls may be monitored and/or recorded to protect both you and us and
help with our training. www.standardlifeinvestments.com © 2014 Standard Life, images reproduced under licence
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