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Special Situations Fund

Fund launch date 10/11/2005
Fund size £3,639,495,669.03
Number of holdings 55
Managed by current team for 18 years
Currently viewing:

The Fund

The multi-award-winning Fund has been managed since launch in November 2005 by Anthony Cross, who was joined by co-managers Julian Fosh in 2008 and Victoria Stevens and Matt Tonge in 2023. The multi-cap Fund uses the Economic Advantage process to invest across the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and the AIM indices to deliver capital growth over the long term (5 years or more). The process seeks to identify companies with a durable competitive advantage that allows them to defy industry competition and sustain a higher than average level of profitability for longer than expected. The Fund invests at least 90% of the portfolio in companies incorporated, domiciled or which conduct significant business in the United Kingdom (UK).

You are able to redeem your investment from the Fund at any time and there is no exit fee for doing so.

Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.
Key Information
Manager Inception Date of Fund
10/11/2005
Class Launch Date
01/11/2010
Comparator Benchmark 1
FTSE All Share
Comparator Benchmark 2
IA UK All Companies
Price
Bid Price
487.680p
Offer Price
491.080p
Price Date
23/04/2024

Awards and ratings

Morningstar Fund Rating: 5 Morningstar Rating: 5
Morningstar Analyst Rating Morningstar Analyst Rating: Bronze
Square Mile Rated AA Square Mile Rating: AA
Rayner Spencer Mills RSMR Rated Fund
Fund Calibre Elite Rated Fund Calibre Elite Rated Fund

Meet the team

Anthony Cross joined Liontrust from Schroders in 1997 and launched the UK Smaller Companies Fund a year later. Anthony, who has managed the UK Smaller Companies and Special Situations funds since launch, was joined by Julian Fosh in 2008. Julian had previously managed funds at Scottish Amicable Investment Managers, Britannic Investment Managers, Scottish Friendly Assurance Society and Saracen Fund Managers. Victoria Stevens and Matt Tonge joined the team in 2015, and became managers of the Special Situations Fund in 2023. Victoria was previously Deputy Head of Corporate Broking at FinnCap, while Matt had spent nine years on the Liontrust dealing desk, latterly winning an industry award for his work in mid and small cap stocks.

Meet the tea

Our Investment Process

The process seeks to identify companies that possess intangible assets which produce barriers to competition and provide a durable competitive advantage that allows the companies to defy industry competition and sustain a higher than average level of profitability for longer than expected.

In the fund managers’ experience, the hardest characteristics for competitors to replicate are three classes of intangible asset: intellectual property, strong distribution channels and significant recurring business.

Other less powerful but nonetheless important intangible strengths include franchises and licenses; good customer databases and relationships; effective procedures and formats; strong brands and company culture

These intangible assets produce barriers to competition, protect margins and are capable, in the opinion of the fund managers, of reaping a financial advantage in the form of cash flow returns in excess of the cost of capital. A company that consistently generates excess cash flow returns will benefit from compounding as it reinvests this excess return into the business.

The Fund has hallmarks of a ‘quality’ style of investing – companies generating high, consistent returns with strong solvency or balance sheets. Quality companies will often outperform in difficult economic conditions. There is a tilt away from companies characterised as ‘value’ – typically companies whose shares appear cheap when assessed on measures of tangible asset value. Value companies often perform well when interest rates rise.

Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.

Performance

Performance since manager inception date (%)

Discrete performance (%)

As at previous quarter 12 months ending: Mar 24 Mar 23 Mar 22 Mar 21 Mar 20
Liontrust Special Situations 4.3 0.1 5.1 31.1 -11.0
FTSE All Share 8.4 2.9 13.0 26.7 -18.5
IA UK All Companies 7.6 -1.9 5.4 38.0 -19.2
Quartile Ranking 4 3 3 3 1

Cumulative performance (%)

As at previous day end 1 month 3 months 6 months YTD 1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years Since Inception
Liontrust Special Situations -0.3 3.7 12.7 0.8 3.1 3.7 22.1 108.9 547.2
FTSE All Share 1.3 7.9 11.7 4.4 5.5 22.6 26.7 75.1 210.6
IA UK All Companies 0.9 6.2 13.8 3.3 5.2 7.6 19.4 60.9 184.1
Quartile Ranking 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 1 -

Source: FE fundinfo as at 23/04/2024. Performance figures are shown in GBX. Total return performance figures are calculated net of costs and charges, on a bid price to bid price basis (mid to mid for OEICs) with net income (dividends) reinvested. Where applicable the quartile rank is for the primary share class within the sector. If your investment is made in a currency other than that used in the past performance calculation the return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.

Current positioning

Top 10 Holdings (%)

REED ELSEVIER
3.49
SHELL PLC
3.43
COMPASS GROUP PLC
3.39
GSK PLC
3.34
ASTRAZENECA PLC
3.28
BP
3.28
TP ICAP GROUP PLC
3.12
UNILEVER PLC
3.09
GAMMA COMMUNICATIONS PLC
2.92
DIAGEO PLC
2.67

Sector Breakdown (%)

Industrials
24.68
Consumer Discretionary
20.71
Financials
13.55
Health Care
9.24
Energy
8.19
Consumer Staples
7.26
Technology
6.83
Money Market
3.56
Real Estate
3.02
Telecommunications
2.92

Geographic Breakdown (%)

UK
96.44
Cash & Cash Equivalents
3.56

Capitalisation (%)

Additional Information
Minimum initial investment
£5,000,000
Minimum additional investment
£100,000
Ex-dividend date
1 June (Final)
Distribution date
31 July (Final)
Sedol code
B57H4F1
ISIN code
GB00B57H4F11
Charges
Initial charge
-
Ongoing Charges Figure
0.81%
Included within the OCF is the Annual Management Charge
0.75%

For more information on the OCF, see our costs and charges page.

Fund Manager Insights

See all related
Anthony Cross Anthony Cross
In defence of the UK market Some high profile private equity takeovers and recent underperformance has cast the UK stock market in a negative light. However, Anthony Cross believes the UK market continues to be home to a number of exciting companies and a resurgence of new entrants are providing fresh investment opportunities.
icon 21 October 2021
UK

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Key Risks 

Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. The Fund may encounter liquidity constraints from time to time. The spread between the price you buy and sell shares will reflect the less liquid nature of the underlying holdings. The Fund may invest in companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) which is primarily for emerging or smaller companies. The rules are less demanding than those of the official List of the London Stock Exchange and therefore companies listed on AIM may carry a greater risk than a company with a full listing. The Fund will invest in smaller companies and may invest a small proportion (less than 10%) of the Fund in unlisted securities. There may be liquidity constraints in these securities from time to time, i.e. in certain circumstances, the fund may not be able to sell a position for full value or at all in the short term. This may affect performance and could cause the fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares. Outside of normal conditions, the Fund may hold higher levels of cash which may be deposited with several credit counterparties (e.g. international banks). A credit risk arises should one or more of these counterparties be unable to return the deposited cash. Counterparty Risk: any derivative contract, including FX hedging, may be at risk if the counterparty fails. ESG Risk: In reference to any component (where applicable) of a fund's investment process that uses external ESG data, there may be limitations to the availability, completeness or accuracy of ESG information from third-party providers, or inconsistencies in the consideration of ESG factors across different third party data providers, given the evolving nature of ESG. There is no guarantee that an absolute return will be generated over a three year time period or within another time period.

Disclaimer

This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and/or PRIIP/KID, which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. It should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets. This information and analysis is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice. Whilst care has been taken in compiling the content, no representation or warranty is given, whether express or implied, by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified.

Fund literature
Special Situations Fund
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