The CF Woodford Equity Income fund continues to demonstrate it is a popular choice among our investors as it has been the most traded fund in October, and for the fifth month running. Despite the fund having only launched back in June 2014, investors have been keen to invest in and benefit from the expertise and knowledge of one of the industry’s most highly respected fund managers. The fund offers a portfolio which comprises not only a core nucleus of blue chip companies, but a number of exciting young vibrant businesses just starting out.

The AXA Framlington Biotech fund retains a top three position, moving up one place. The fund is ideal for those investors seeking specific sector exposure, where the underlying holdings are invested principally in equity securities of companies in the biotechnology, genomics and medical sectors worldwide. The fund is approximately 85% invested in US equities, with top holdings including Biogen, Celgene Corp and Gilead Sciences.

A re-entry into the top ten this month is the Fundsmith Equity fund. The fund invests in equities on a global basis and is managed by the highly acclaimed founder of the business, Terry Smith. With the number of holdings generally being between 20 – 30 stocks, the underlying portfolio clearly demonstrates the manager’s conviction in the highly concentrated portfolio of global names in which he invests.

The Polar Capital Healthcare Opportunities fund is the second sector specific entry within the top ten and continues the theme around medical and healthcare. With advances in medical and healthcare technology continuing at a rapid pace, the fund will provide investors with not only exposure to the sector, but also significant geographical exposure to the US given the dominance of this market.

Maintaining their presence within the top ten, in fifth and sixth positions respectively, are the Old Mutual UK Mid-Cap fund and Jupiter Global Managed Fund. The Old Mutual UK Mid-Cap fund seeks to provide capital growth from investing primarily in a portfolio of medium sized UK companies, serving as an ideal investment opportunity for those seeking true mid-cap exposure. The Jupiter Global Managed Fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth, principally investing through equities on an international basis. The fund mainly comprises of companies considered by the manager to be undervalued, which exhibit favourable growth prospects arising from characteristics such as proven management or strong products or services.

We believe the managers of the CF Miton UK Value Opportunities fund can certainly be placed in the bracket of rising stars. The managers seek to identify companies that have good cash flow and strong balance sheets from across the market cap spectrum, although the majority of underlying investments will often come from mid-to-small-cap companies. Subsequently, we believe this is one of the few funds that strive to adopt a deep value investment strategy.

In eighth position we find the Marlborough UK Micro Cap fund which as the name suggests, has a prime focus on companies with a very small market cap of which a considerable proportion can have under £150m market cap at the time of initial investment. By the very nature of the underlying holdings and the liquidity risks they can bring, this fund would be seen as a higher risk investment and should ideally be blended with a more mainstream core investment.

After a period away from the top ten, the Newton Asian Income fund has returned. The fund has undergone a significant change this year, having had the departure of their high profile lead manager, and now being managed on collective team approach.

The final entrant within the top ten is another historic favourite and stalwart with investors, in the shape of the Invesco Perpetual High Income fund. The fund aims to provide investors with a high level of income, together with capital growth. While the core of the portfolio will invest primarily in UK companies, the fund does have the ability to invest internationally should the manager deem appropriate.

The Share Centre’s top traded funds in October are as follows:

1          CF Woodford Equity Income fund

2          AXA Framlington Biotech fund

3          Fundsmith Equity fund

4          Polar Capital Healthcare Opportunities fund

5          Old Mutual UK Mid-Cap fund

6          Jupiter Global Managed fund

7          CF Miton UK Value Opportunities fund

8          Marlborough UK Micro-Cap fund

9          Newton Asian Income fund

10         Invesco Perpetual High Income fund

[article_related_posts]