Gartmore Launches New Funds For Sophisticated Investors

Caroline Maxwell, InvestorsOffshore.com

18 January 2001

Gartmore, the prominent investment managers, are planning to launch a range of new 'riskier' funds at the end of January, aimed at the more aggressive investor.

The five funds, which will be known as Gartmore Focus Funds are to cover the American, European, Japanese, UK, and global markets, and the portfolio of each will be made up of just 30 stocks (compared with the usual 80 for their existing funds), in order to exploit the investment possibilities offered by specific sectors.

There are somewhat mixed feelings about what the new year holds for the fund sector, as expressed by the global marketing director of Lipper, Steve Lipper: 'Looking ahead, an uncertain economic outlook in North America, and perhaps Japan, [which] may make for another difficult year, although continental Europe appears in better economic shape.'

However, Jason Hollands, the deputy managing director of Bestinvest, an independent financial advisor, has hailed the proposed funds as 'a breath of fresh air', but also cautions that Gartmore Focus funds are suitable only for sophisticated investors, and should not form the core of a portfolio.

The charging structure introduced by the firm is also something of an innovation, with investors applying before April paying a 1.5% annual management fee until the 31st January 2002, which then rises to 2%. However, if any Focus Fund doesn't make it to the top quartile of the relevant competitor funds, the investor will only be charged at the rate of 1.25% for that month.

Although the fund managers of the American, Japanese, and European offerings have proven track records, the global and UK managers, although more than capable, are as yet unproven in their own right, and IFAs, in line with Bestinvest, are likely to want to 'wait and see', at least for a short while.

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