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Their moment in the sun
For every era , there has been a fund group of choice . Fidelity had its moment with its Special Situations franchise , Invesco with its value funds . More recently , it has been Baillie Gifford ’ s turn , dominating the performance tables and fund flows as its growth style has been in vogue . However , there are tentative signs that its popularity may have peaked , with outflows of 1.3 % of its total business in January , contributing to a total decline in assets of 10 %. So is there anything to learn from the fund groups that have slipped out of fashion ? Investment style is clearly a key driver of a fund house ’ s success . This has been a unique period for growth investing , helping to keep Baillie Gifford at the top of the charts for more than a decade . When value was in the ascendancy , it contributed to the glory years of Fidelity , M & G and Invesco . Gavin Haynes , investment consultant at Fairview Investing , says : “ Fidelity had its European and UK Special Situations funds . It had a star manager in Anthony Bolton , but one of the reasons he did so well was because value investing was in vogue . This also helped funds such as M & G Recovery .” The other beneficiary of this period was Neil Woodford , helping cement his reputation as a star .
What goes up … The subsequent trajectory of these funds would seem to augur badly for today ’ s growth managers . Neil Woodford ’ s history is well known , while M & G Recovery has also been a disaster , with Tom Dobell eventually bowing out in 2020 . Part of the problem is often that the most successful funds are at the extreme of any given investment style and therefore most vulnerable when the environment turns . Asset class specialism may also
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