Press Release

Moneyspider.com

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

10 July 2007

BOUTIQUE FUND MANAGERS SCOOP TOP HONOURS IN GLOBAL GROWTH SECTOR - SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, SAYS MONEYSPIDER

-          new research shows boutiques leave the big houses standing

-          global growth a clear winner

-          diversification key to boosting portfolio performance

GLOBAL GROWTH funds hold the key to excellent investment returns, according to new research by investment data analyst Moneyspider.com - but it's the small boutique funds that are posting stellar returns, leaving the big name fund management houses trailing in their wake.

Bill Ross, managing director of Moneyspider.com believes Global Growth funds offer a logical alternative to the UK funds since the home market makes up marginally less than 10 per cent¹ of the global market.

And since UK investors hold about 90 per cent² of their money in UK funds, it is surely illogical to have most of one's eggs in such a relatively small basket.

The Global Growth tree (see table 1) has been dominated by the little known Neptune Global Equity fund for the past five years - a £5,000 investment in the fund would have made a profit of £8,071, a gain of more than 160 per cent over the period.

Another top performing boutique fund - Rathbone Global Opportunities - has also delivered substantial profits of £6,086, growth of over 120 per cent since 2002.

Yet the same amount invested in the bottom of the pile - the Scottish Widows' Global Growth fund - would have produced a derisory profit of just £662, far less than if the money had been held in an ordinary savings account (see note 1) over the same period.

"This dramatic imbalance in returns shows the importance of not automatically putting your trust in the big name fund management houses," says Moneyspider.com managing director Bill Ross.

"Small houses such as Rathbone and Neptune can seriously reward investors who are prepared to consider unfamiliar or even unknown names," believes Ross.

The global growth sector's popularity looks set to continue. It was the most popular product category for worldwide pension fund manager searches in 2006³, and accounted for nearly a third - 31 per cent - of the total $92.3 billion total assets held in global stock markets.

The case for focusing on top boutique houses is further strengthened by Fidelity's recent surprise announcement that its own multi-manager team does not hold any of its UK funds within its range - rather it prefers to back funds from boutiques.

While returns from the top funds in the Global Growth sector are impressive, barely 7.5 per cent of the total funds held in ISA wrappers⁴ are in this key sector.

The most popular IMA sector is UK All Companies, which currently holds the lion's share of investors' ISA money - 31 per cent of all ISA investors hold £13billion under management in this zone.

"Investing money in the right funds within the UK All Companies sector would have generally produced good returns. However, the top performing portfolios would have had a good cross sector of funds and geographical exposure, so Global Growth is likely to be a key component in asset allocation going forward," added Ross.

"Because of their excellent performance, Global Growth funds from the best managers are likely to become an increasing part of the investment landscape over the next decade, providing UK-based investors with much needed geographical diversification," he said.

"Asset allocation has always been and remains one of the key factors in investment returns."

Table 1:

Note 1:£5,000 in the Halifax Web Saver account would have earned approximately £1,188.54 (gross) or £950.83 (net) interest over a period of five years

¹ FTSE International

² IMA, June 2007

³ Research conducted by Mercer Investment Consulting Jan 07

⁴ IMA, April 2007

- Ends-

Editor's notes

Moneyspider was launched in April 2004 and is a totally independent investment research and information company for private investors. Moneyspider constantly monitors all 2,000 or so funds available to UK investors and provides online personal reports that are updated on a daily basis showing current valuation and performance of all funds in one place.

The Moneyspider Rating® provides a unique assessment of the performance of each fund measured against four key parameters:

• Sector ranking: a comparison with all other funds in the same sector as your fund (based on the sector definitions used by the Investment Management Association).
  
• All funds ranking: a comparison with all other 2000 or so Unit Trusts and Open Ended Investment Company funds available to UK investors.
  
• FTSE 100: a comparison of the total return of the fund with the total return of the FTSE 100 index (comprising the UK's 100 largest companies), providing a consistent benchmark for each fund.
  
• Cash: a comparison of the fund's performance with the return from an equivalent amount deposited in a 90 day non-high interest access account.

Moneyspider is an appointed representative of Anthony, Bryant & Company (Investment Consultants) Limited of 25 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1NS, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The contents of this press release are not intended, and should not be construed as, advice, a recommendation or as an inducement to buy or sell any investment. Moneyspider relies on information regarding investments that is provided by third parties and accepts no liability (including that arising from negligence) for the accuracy of such information.