Tim Steer is manager of the Artemis UK Growth fund and he also runs institutional mandates including the Artemis UK Hedge Fund. He has been at Artemis since mid-2009 having previously managed the UK Alpha fund at New Star. Having first qualified as a chartered accountant he started his investment career as a small-cap analyst for Merrill Lynch and HSBC.
Tim Steer won't buy a stock without meeting company executives.
Steer's Artemis UK Growth fund has a Bronze Morningstar OBSR Analyst Rating. In that fund he uses his accountancy background to analyse each company's accounts in detail, which he believes can reveal much about its current state and offer a guide to its future potential. In particular, he pays significant attention to the finer detail in accounts, concentrating specifically on the use of provisions, cash flow, revenue recognition, debtors and debtor levels. The investment process is wide ranging and also includes a qualitative rating tool.
Within the investment process he emphasises meeting and gaining a thorough knowledge of a company's management; indeed he won't buy a stock without meeting executives. In that context it will be interesting to see Steer interview a CEO from a FTSE company at the Morningstar Investment Conference this May. It will provide an insight, both in terms of what information Steer is looking to gain from the CEO, and in terms of how the CEO views the company's recent performance and the opportunities going forward. It is a rare opportunity to see a fund manager "in action" and should be an informative and entertaining session.
Tim Steer will be one of many UK investment luminaries speaking at the Morningstar Investment Conference in London this May. See the Morningstar corporate site for more information.