TM Tellworth UK Smaller Companies
This is a pure smaller companies fund run by two very experienced and highly regarded managers, Paul Marriage and John Warren. It focuses on smaller companies, avoiding micro-caps and mid cap stocks and meeting company management is integral to the investment process.
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Paul Marriage joined Premier Miton in June 2024. He co-founded Tellworth Investments with John Warren in October 2017. Previously, Paul was Head of UK Dynamic at Schroders after its acquisition of Cazenove Capital, where he had been since 2005. Before that, he led UK Small Cap investments at Insight Investments and worked as an analyst at GH Asset Management.
John Warren joined Premier Miton in June 2024. He co-founded Tellworth Investments with Paul Marriage in October 2017. John joined Cazenove Capital in 2010 and moved to Schroders in 2013 following the acquisition of Cazenove. Before this, he worked in UK equities at UBS, Investec Bank, and HSBC, and began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
James Gerlis joined Premier Miton in June 2024. Before that, he was a Fund Manager at Tellworth Investments, where he also served as the Responsible Investment Lead since its launch in October 2017. Prior to Tellworth, James spent seven years at BlackRock, working as an Analyst on the UK Equity and Global Emerging Markets Equity teams.
Paul Marriage joined Premier Miton in June 2024. He co-founded Tellworth Investments with John Warren in October 2017. Previously, Paul was Head of UK Dynamic at Schroders after its acquisition of Cazenove Capital, where he had been since 2005. Before that, he led UK Small Cap investments at Insight Investments and worked as an analyst at GH Asset Management.
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Company Description
Tellworth is a specialist UK equity boutique managing several active strategies. Founded in 2017, Tellworth has a fund management team dedicated to fundamental stock analysis and multi-cap investing. On 1 November 2023, Tellworth Investments was acquired by Premier Miton, and officially joined the Premier Miton group of companies on 30th January 2024.Premier Miton Investors was formed in November 2019 following the merger of Premier Asset Management Group plc and Miton Group plc. The combined company manages around £11.2 billion of assets on behalf of a wide range of individual investors and institutions. The two principle areas of focus are outcome-based, multi-asset investment, and single-strategy, active equity investment.
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Quote from the Fund Manager
I failed at insurance broking, I wasn’t much better at selling shirts, but somehow I’m a respectable stock picker – it’s as much about experience as it is expertise.
Paul Marriage
Co-Manager
Investment process
Launched in November 2018, this is a true smaller companies fund. It doesn't invest in micro-caps or mid-caps like some peers. The managers avoid high risk areas, so don't invest in oil & gas, biotech or mining businesses, for example. They begin by running a number of different quantitative screens, to eliminate a number of factors, including companies with aggressive accounting or poor corporate governance.
The managers will then apply their 'P3M' process to the remaining stocks. They look for companies with a differentiated product, high sustainable margins, management aligned with shareholders and a market leading position. These companies will make up 75% of the portfolio. The remaining 25% will be made up of value opportunities such as self-help stories which are enjoying a turnaround or misunderstood businesses. Meeting companies is a key part of the process.
Risk
Tellworth UK Smaller Companies fund is well diversified with around 50 underlying holdings. The managers avoid the smallest, most illiquid stocks and the fund has a strict capacity limit to prevent it getting too big. The managers are keenly aware of the dangers of owning too much of any one particular company.
ESG
ESG - Integrated
ESG is not a primary goal of the fund, but ESG issues are holistically built into the managers’ stock selection process when performing fundamental analysis of companies. Top-level work reduces ESG risk, with screens removing companies involved in oil and gas production, as well as mining. There is also a ‘sinners screen’ in the process, which removes those firms with poor governance metrics. The managers believe this governance angle also helps with environmental and social factors as a by-product of good management - those running a business well, fairly, and independently, are likely to conduct business ethically with all stakeholders in mind and produce better outcomes as a result. The process also involves many management meetings, where lots of issues are discussed. ESG interactions are recorded in a noting system, building a knowledge base specific to the investment universe. As well as removing risks, ESG concepts also provide investment opportunities, and the managers will look to identify firms that can capture these trends.
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