Investec Emerging still a long way off - Media Comment07 Sep 2001
The portfolio of the Investec Emerging Companies Fund is almost equally divided between value and growth shares. The top 10 holdings also reflect a high rotation rate, with six shares replaced since May. This could be a sign of dynamic grading or of uncertainty. Due to the fund's dismal record, the latter may be suspected.
(Source: Financial Mail, 31 August 2001)
Uninspiring record - Media Comment05 Apr 2001
The fund's focus is on mid cap and the upper 25% of small-cap shares. A good mid-cap share portfolio should have produced a close to break-even return over the past three years and not the fund's -58%. There are no signs of improvement over the past year, with the fund's -46% 12-month return still out of line with the Mid Cap index's 12% decline. Neither big IT, financial services and retail sector exposures, nor holding 3% of LeisureNet's issued share capital to the bitter end have helped.
Stafford Thomas
(Source: Financial Mail, April 6, 2001)