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Jupiter UK Special Situations
Managed with a distinct contrarian and value-based approach, Jupiter UK Special Situations fund offers investors access to a well-diversified portfolio of predominantly larger UK companies. The manager, Ben Whitmore, is hugely experienced and has had considerable success running this type of mandate throughout his career.
Our opinion
The investment process follows a classical value approach and has been well executed by the experienced and skilled Ben Whitmore. Jupiter UK Special Situations fund is highly stylistic in nature and the style will fall in and out of fashion. That said, Ben's approach has led to long-term outperformance and there is a lot to like about this fund, especially if you are looking for a value-driven strategy.Company description
Founded in 1985, Jupiter Asset Management has grown from a specialist investment boutique to a global fund management company. It provides a range of products from bond and equity funds to multi-asset strategies for both retail and institutional clients. Jupiter is a strong proponent of active management and therefore gives its managers the freedom to run their funds their way, without having to adhere to a 'house' view. In July 2020, Jupiter completed its acquisition of Merian Global Investors.
Fund manager
Ben Whitmore manages the Jupiter UK Special Situations fund along with other UK and global mandates. Prior to joining Jupiter, Ben worked at Schroders, managing both retail and institutional portfolios and some £2bn of assets, including the Schroder Recovery fund. He has a degree in Geography from Cambridge University.
I’m a stock selection-focused, contrarian investor who buys lowly-priced shares in companies that are well run, or have the potential to be.
Ben WhitmoreFund manager
Investment process
Ben follows a methodical and well-defined investment philosophy. In essence, he looks to buy stocks that are out-of-fashion with the market. He identifies these companies by screening to find cheap stocks and analysing their 10-year average earnings. Unlike most of his peers Ben does not forecast a company’s future earnings. He points out that analyst forecasts almost always turn out to be wrong. Suitable candidates for Jupiter UK Special Situations fund are subjected to rigorous fundamental research, with Ben looking to weed out businesses with weak balance sheets and poor competitive positions. Ben can typically hold up to 75 stocks and as few as 35, depending on market conditions. The process of realising value with contrarian ideas often takes time and so the average holding period for a stock is likely to be several years, with fund turnover consequently low.
ESG
ESG - Limited
Ben’s approach with this fund is to work on the concept of stewardship, which includes sustainability and governance considerations. There is, however, no formal policy for exclusions and no set ESG definitions for what is or isn’t an acceptable portfolio holding. That said, Ben wants to look after investors’ money as if it were his own. As part of this, he will consider all risks to a stock when looking at making an investment. Many of these risks will come under the umbrella of environmental, social or governance factors, but they do not sit within a simple disclosure framework, and he does not label them as such.
Risk
Despite the stylistic nature of the fund’s investment process, it has historically been less volatile than the market. The fund has a greater weight to larger companies versus many of its peers and this often helps its performance in a falling market.
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