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WS Blue Whale Growth Class I - Income (GBP)

Sell:258.75p Buy:258.75p Change: 0.82p (0.32%)
Prices as at 20 December 2024
Sell:258.75p
Buy:258.75p
Change: 0.82p (0.32%)
You can buy or sell holdings in this fund through a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP or Fund and Share Account
Invest now
Prices as at 20 December 2024
Sell:258.75p
Buy:258.75p
Change: 0.82p (0.32%)
Prices as at 20 December 2024
You can buy or sell holdings in this fund through a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP or Fund and Share Account
Invest now
The selling price currently displayed is higher than the buying price. This can occur temporarily for a variety of reasons; shortly before the market opens, after the market closes or because of extraordinary price volatility during the trading day.

Our view on this Fund

This fund does not feature on the Wealth Shortlist of funds our analysts believe have the potential to outperform their peers over the long term. This is not a recommendation to sell; however, if you are thinking of adding to your investments, we believe the Wealth Shortlist is a good place to start. View funds on the Wealth Shortlist »

The fund is managed by Stephen Yiu, who has over a decade of experience in the investment industry. He prides himself on having built a highly experienced and well-resourced investment team that focus solely on one fund.

The team focuses on a small universe of less than 100 high-quality companies. Yiu believes that this allows the team to remain nimble enough to pounce on new opportunities but also allows each team member the chance to spend a significant amount of time analysing each companies' potential.

Blue Whale was co-founded by Peter Hargreaves, a significant shareholder in Hargreaves Lansdown Plc, which prohibits the fund from inclusion in the Wealth Shortlist. The manager also does not currently have a long enough track record to satisfy our quantitative analysis criteria.

Our view on the sector

It's natural for UK investors to focus on funds investing in their home market. But as the world has become more connected, so has the investment landscape. There are lots of funds investing across the globe, and these can be a great way to diversify an investment portfolio. Funds in the global sector can invest anywhere in the world. But they go about this in different ways. They vary in how much they can invest in certain types of companies, sectors, countries, or regions. Some focus on developed markets or large multinational corporations, while others invest more in higher-risk emerging markets or smaller companies. Some target companies with higher-growth expectations and others search for unloved companies with the potential to recover.

Performance Analysis

The fund launched in September 2017 and performance has been very strong over this period. It's outperformed both the benchmark and its peers in the IA Global sector. Our analysis suggests this is partly due to being invested in growth-style stocks, which have been favoured by other investors. The manager's ability to invest in companies with outstanding prospects, regardless of their size or the sector they're in, also added to returns according to our analysis.

Investors should be mindful that this is not a long track record, and so may not be enough to accurately analyse how Yiu would perform through a full market cycle.

Investment Philosophy

Yiu likes businesses with strong management teams and the ability to perform well regardless of the economic backdrop. Typically, he looks for companies which are financially robust with little or no debt, and a clear competitive advantage over peers.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are also important. Yiu avoids industries where ESG concerns prevent a company from sustainably growing revenues or profitability. As consumers become more environmentally and socially conscious, he feels companies employing higher standards of governance and sustainability are set to benefit.

Process and Portfolio Construction

Yiu and his team look for high quality companies with a strong growth outlook. Often they're set to benefit from a long term trend, such as digital transformation or the increased focus on ESG. The aim is to invest in companies for as long as possible, and only sell if better opportunities arise elsewhere.

The team only invests in 25-35 stocks at a time. This means they can analyse and research each company in detail. That said, running a concentrated portfolio adds risk, as each investment has the potential to have a large impact on performance.

The fund currently invests mostly in the US, with roughly 70% in North American equities, and the rest is spread across Europe, the UK and Australasia. The manager's investment style, which favours companies with a strong growth outlook, means over half of the fund invests in the technology sector, with communication services and healthcare the second and third largest sectors respectively.

question mark Manager Track Record Based on HL Quantitative Research

This information is currently unavailable.

Fund Track Record

20/12/19 to 20/12/20 20/12/20 to 20/12/21 20/12/21 to 20/12/22 20/12/22 to 20/12/23 20/12/23 to 20/12/24
Annual return 26.11% 17.56% -26.81% 32.39% 26.48%

Please remember past performance is not a guide to future returns. Where no data is shown, figures are not available. This information is provided to help you choose your own investments, remember they can fall as well as rise in value so you may not get back the original amount invested.

Information about the fund

Fund manager biography

manager photo
Manager Name: Stephen Yiu
Manager start date: 11 September 2017
Manager located in: London

Stephen is the lead manager of the WS Blue Whale Growth Fund and the Blue Whale Growth Fund (ICAV). Having started his working life in the Hargreaves Lansdown investment team, Stephen left the company in 2007 to pursue his interest in asset management. Having worked at New Star (now Janus Henderson), Artemis, and under Martin Taylor at Nevsky Capital, Stephen has gained broad and varied experience within the investment industry. Previous funds he has directly managed or co-managed are - Citywire's AA-rated Artemis UK Growth Fund (now Artemis UK Select Fund), Artemis Pan-European Hedge Fund (nominated for EuroHedge Awards 2010) and New Star UK Gemini Hedge Fund (nominated for EuroHedge Awards 2007). Stephen set up his own fund management business in 2017 with a £25m backing from Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown. The firm's flagship WS Blue Whale Growth Fund has grown to manage over £1bn in assets and was voted Best Fund of 2020 at the Shares Magazine Awards.

Data policy - All information should be used for indicative purposes only. You should independently check data before making any investment decision. HL cannot guarantee that the data is accurate or complete, and accepts no responsibility for how it may be used. Benchmark data provided subject to this disclaimer.
You can buy or sell holdings in this fund through a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP or Fund and Share Account
Invest now