UK Institutional UK Opportunities

Strategy highlights

  • Concentrated portfolios with no bias towards any economic sector or company size
  • Investment process based on strong fundamentals and valuation case, informed by long-term, thematic research
  • Primarily invests in the securities of UK companies

Our philosophy and process

Portfolios are concentrated and high-conviction, with fewer holdings than a traditional UK equity portfolio. There are no sector or benchmark constraints. A constantly evolving and forward-looking approach that seeks to anticipate change, manage risk, and identify opportunities.

Material ESG risks, opportunities and issues are considered as part of the investment research process.

Every time we consider a security or look at an industry or country, it’s in the context of what’s happening across the world. We believe the investment landscape is shaped over the long term by some key trends, and we use themes to help identify opportunities.

Investment team

Our UK Opportunities strategy is managed by an experienced team. In-house research analysts are at the core of our investment process, and our multidimensional research platform spans fundamental, thematic, ESG, quantitative, geopolitical, investigative and private-market research to promote better-informed investment decisions.

23
years’ average investment experience
09
years’ average time at Newton
  • Louise Kernohan
    Louise Kernohan

    Portfolio manager, UK Equities team

  • Georgina Cooper
    Georgina Cooper

    Portfolio manager, UK Equities team

  • David Cumming
    David Cumming

    Head of UK Equities

  • Julianne McHugh
    Julianne McHugh

    Head of sustainable equities

  • Nick Pope
    Nick Pope

    Portfolio manager, sustainable equity strategies

  • Tim Lucas
    Tim Lucas

    Portfolio manager, UK Equities team

Strategy profile

Objective

The strategy seeks to significantly outperform the FTSE All-Share Index over rolling 5-year periods by achieving long-term capital growth from a concentrated portfolio of primarily UK securities, with the capability to invest in non-UK securities.

Performance benchmark

FTSE All-Share

Typical number of equity holdings

30 to 50

Strategy inception

Composite inception: 1 April 2002

Your capital may be at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the original amount invested.

Newton will make investment decisions that are not based solely on ESG considerations. Those considerations are among many inputs into the fundamental analysis. Other attributes of an investment may outweigh ESG considerations when making investment decisions. The way that material ESG considerations are assessed may vary depending on the asset class and strategy involved. As of September 2022, the research team performs ESG analysis on equity securities prior to their addition to Newton’s Research Recommended List (RRL). ESG reviews are not performed for all fixed income securities. The portfolio managers may purchase equity securities that are not included on the RRL and which do not have ESG reviews. Not all securities held by Newton’s strategies have an ESG review completed prior to investment.

Key investment risks

  • Objective/performance risk: There is no guarantee that the strategy will achieve its objectives.
  • Currency risk: This strategy invests in international markets which means it is exposed to changes in currency rates which could affect the value of the strategy.
  • Geographic concentration risk: The strategy primarily invests in a single market which may have a significant impact on the value of the strategy.
  • Derivatives risk: Derivatives are highly sensitive to changes in the value of the asset from which their value is derived. A small movement in the value of the underlying asset can cause a large movement in the value of the derivative. This can increase the sizes of losses and gains, causing the value of your investment to fluctuate. When using derivatives, the strategy can lose significantly more than the amount it has invested in derivatives.
  • Concentration risk: A fall in the value of a single investment may have a significant impact on the value of the strategy because it typically invests in a limited number of investments.
  • Counterparty risk: The insolvency of any institutions providing services such as custody of assets or acting as a counterparty to derivatives or other contractual arrangements, may expose the strategy to financial loss

Insights

What next for the FTSE?
Blog

What next for the FTSE?

We discuss the outlook for UK equities.
Georgina Cooper
22 March 2023
UK equities
Blog

2022: Reflections of a UK equity investor

Looking back on a year of multiple crises.
David Cumming
10 January 2023
UK equities
COVID-19: UK bond market impact
Blog

What’s next for UK equities?

We describe the opportunities and challenges facing the UK equity market in 2023.
David Cumming
03 January 2023
UK equities