Dr Paul Jourdan has won Best UK Smaller Companies FE Alpha Manager Award 2018, beating off competition from a short list of more 70 other fund managers.
Jourdan runs the TB Amati UK Smaller Companies Fund (GB00B2NG4R39). It has delivered a total return performance of 27.9% over the past year, almost twice that of its IA UK Smaller Companies benchmark (15.7%), and in 2017 chalked-up a 36.2% total return. The benchmark performance last year was 27.2%.
Jourdan co-founded Amati Global Investors alongside Douglas Lawson following the management buyout of Noble Fund Managers from Noble Group in January 2010.
STOCK MARKET STARS AND HIDDEN GEMS
Jourdan’s TB Amati UK Smaller Companies Fund mixes recognisable companies with lesser known names, and includes some quite large stocks, such as £3.6bn spreadbetting platform provider IG Group (IGG).
The small cap universe can mean anything outside of the FTSE 100 index.
Several popular smaller company stock stars are in its top 10 stakes, including mixer drinks favourite Fevertree Drinks (FEVR:AIM), whose shares are up 64% in the past year, and power switching technology developer XP Power (XPP:AIM), 35% ahead.
69% HIKE FROM BEST-PERFORMING STOCK
The fund's best performer over the past year is DiscoverIE (DSCV), the electronic and engineering components designer and supplier. It has seen its share price re-rated 69% during the past 12 months to 450p, valuing the business at £315m.
‘Amati's funds are managed with a team approach, bringing together a number of fund managers who each have long experience in their own right, and who can then specialise in certain sectors of the market,’ says Jourdan. ‘This has been key to the performance we have delivered over the last five years.’
It’s also why he is keen to pass around the credit for the award. ‘This award very much belongs to the whole team at Amati, and we are delighted with the recognition it brings.’
