Which UK funds excited our experts?

A quartet of industry specialists talk to Heath Reidy about their top UK Equity fund picks.

Meera Patel, Senior analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

Standard Life UK Equity Unconstrained fund, managed by Ed Legget

Expert view: “The group runs core portfolios and from these picks the best stocks, and translates those into their unconstrained vehicles. They are basically the more spicy versions of their core portfolios, but also tend to be more concentrated portfolios, so they are high conviction. They can be volatile. The fund is appropriate for investors who can ride the volatility and for those who believe in managers that take a high conviction approach.”

About the fund: The fund is top of the UK All Companies sector over three years, up 63.17%, versus a sector average of 6.89%.

Old Mutual UK Dynamic Equity fund, managed by Luke Kerr

Expert view: “OMAM probably has one of the best small-cap teams in the industry. This is a long/short fund so is not your traditional fund that only invests in a stock that goes up. The group has run a hedge fund along similar lines which has done really well and has translated that strategy into this fund.”

About the fund: The Dublin-domiciled fund has increased by 28.1% over one year against the UK Mid-Cap Equity sector average of 20.56%.

Adrian Lowcock, Senior investment adviser, Bestinvest

BlackRock UK Special Situations fund, managed by Richard Plackett

Expert view: “The team has strong stock-picking skills and differentiates away from the benchmark so it very rarely falls into the quasi-tracker area. The fund has good strong conviction managers.”

About the fund: The fund was up 24.16% over three years, against a UK All Companies sector average of 6.89%.

Standard Life UK Smaller Companies fund, managed by Harry Nimmo

Expert view: “Nimmo has a 14-year track record and is a very experienced manager in this area. Smaller companies really add value and it is an opportunity for managers to add value. There is the ability to identify things that the markets haven’t really noticed. Good managers are really able to add lots of value in this area.”

About the fund: Over three years, the fund ranks 11th in the UK Smaller Companies sector, up 43.61% against a sector average of 24.64%.