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Artemis to launch international version of £2bn UK Select fund

Artemis to launch international version of £2bn UK Select fund
Artemis will open up its UK Select Fund to international investors. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)

Artemis has plans to make its UK fund available to international investors. 

The firm has received approval from the Luxembourg regulator to launch a Sicav version of its UK Select fund. 

Adam Gent, head of intermediated sales at Artemis, said the launch is in response to an increasing number of international clients wanting to access UK equity.

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The £1.96bn fund has been managed by Ed Legget and Ambrose Faulks since 2015. 

Ed Legget said "The UK stock market has been out of favour for the last decade. At a sector level its bias towards more capital- and balance-sheet-intensive businesses has been a headwind for both earnings and valuations in a world of low interest rates and quantitative easing. This is now changing.

"On the macro-economic front, consensus expectations for the UK economy remain on the upside, supported by latest forecasts from the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility.

"Modest tax cuts in the recent budget should support the earnings of domestic-focused holdings.”

The proposed fund will be identical to the existing UK version which invests in 40 to 60 stocks. 

Faulks said: “Today many companies are valued at a significant discount to an already cheap market as well as to their own long-term history.

"Many of these stocks currently offer distribution yields – buyback and dividends combined – in the teens.

"Already, private equity and other companies are using M&A to capitalise on the low valuations available. As confidence improves this is a trend we would expect to accelerate."

He said the UK Select strategy focuses on free cash flow combined with a high active share. 

Gent added: "Over the last couple of years the managers have consistently been more positive than many on the outlook for the UK economy.

"Their patience in terms of buying into stocks at what they feel is the right price and then holding on until the value is recognised by the market has proved invaluable.”

tara.o'connor@ft.com

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