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 INVBRO_11_0501_UK_Equity_Unconstrained_Fund_Guide_TCM 0814
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