Fidelity European

Fidelity European is one of the best offerings in a competitive sector.

Muna Abu-Habsa 2 December, 2008 | 12:54PM
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Fidelity veteran Tim McCarron had already been at the firm for 10 years when he took over Fidelity European in 2003 from legendary manager Anthony Bolton. He had a tough act to follow as Bolton had amassed an exceptional record on the fund over his tenure (Nov 1985- Dec 2002). Bolton delivered 19.3% per year in annualised returns while the average fund in the Morningstar Europe Ex-UK Large Cap category returned 10.4%. McCarron was trained by Bolton and has proven his individual worth. He has kept up the fund’s strong record and has driven it to be one of the top performers in its Morningstar peer group; it returned 10.7% per year annualised compared with a 6.6% category norm.

McCarron’s style has been consistent throughout his tenure and he has demonstrated robust stock-picking skills

. In his search for stocks, he seeks less well-known, under-researched companies over popular index names and his process benefits from access to Fidelity’s sizeable European research team. McCarron leverages their analytical resources to screen the Europe ex-UK equity universe and also considers external broker research. However, he still meets with companies himself before investing as further due diligence. McCarron hunts for three types of stocks: those which are undervalued and misunderstood by the market, companies with strong growth prospects and turnaround situations with catalysts for recovery. He is generally less focused on cheap stocks than similar competitor funds and this is reflected in the portfolio’s valuation metrics and the fund’s growth tilt. There is also a top-down overlay to McCarron’s process which he uses to control any unintended tilts. For example, his style has typically edged the portfolio towards smaller-cap issues but early in 2007 he cut back small-cap exposure considerably on liquidity concerns in favour of stocks higher up the market-cap scale.

In the current market environment, McCarron has been finding ample turnaround situations, particularly in financials (having trimmed exposure to the sector early in 2007). Holding out-of-favour names and waiting for turnaround situations means the fund will experience spells of relative underperformance and investors need to be able to stomach fluctuations along the way; for example the fund ended 2006 in its category’s bottom quartile. That said, over the long term McCarron has been able to keep volatility in check as the fund’s standard deviation (a statistical measure of risk) is 109 basis points lower than the category average. Furthermore he has delivered excellent returns which compensate for rocky times.

McCarron’s experience and diligent execution of his strategy over a number of market cycles, coupled with the backup he enjoys from Fidelity’s research bench and talented managers on the European front, make it a standout in a competitive sector.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Fidelity European Acc3,625.23 GBP-0.79Rating

About Author

Muna Abu-Habsa  is a senior investment research analyst at Morningstar

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