SVM UK equity manager Margaret Lawson, Columbia Threadneedle’s Mark Heslop and Jeremy Podger from Fidelity are among the fund managers to land in the FE Alpha Manager Hall of Fame for the first time.
The Alpha Manager accolade is based on managers’ risk-adjusted alpha and consistency of outperformance versus their benchmark going back as far as 2000. Fund managers that land the honour over seven consecutive years form the Hall of Fame.
There are 18 new entrants in the 2019 rebalance taking the total number of Hall of Famers to 61.
New entrants to the FE Hall of Fame 2019
| Name | Manager |
| Alex Savvides | JO Hambro Capital Management |
| Andrew Headley | Veritas Asset Management |
| Andrew Holliman | Polar Capital |
| Bryan Agbabian | Allianz Global Investors |
| Charles Richardson | Veritas Asset Management |
| Chris Hutchinson | Unicorn Asset Management |
| Ezra Sun | Veritas Asset Management |
| Jeremy Podger | Fidelity |
| Luke Kerr | Merian Global Investors |
| Margaret Lawson | SVM Asset Management |
| Mark Costar | JO Hambro Capital Management |
| Mark Heslop | Columbia Threadneedle Investments |
| Robin Parbrook | Schroders |
| Robrecht Wouters | JO Hambro Capital Management |
| Roger Morley | MFS Meridian Funds |
| Sean Ashfield | Consistent Unit Trust |
| Spencer Adair | Baillie Gifford |
| Thorsten Winkelmann | Allianz Global Investors |
There are now more than 200 managers with the Alpha Manager rating, including 54 new entrants, 38 of which had never previously been awarded the accolade.
Charles Younes, research manager at FE, said it is a big ask for active managers to deliver seven years of risk-adjusted alpha and consistent outperformance “especially during prolonged periods of uncertainty and market volatility”.
“Investors can be confident that the performance of managers in the FE Hall of Fame is down to genuine skill and conviction, rather than luck,” Younes added.
Woodford remains in Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame was launched in 2015 and there are now 17 fund managers who have landed the accolade for each of the five past years.
Despite recent underperformance, Neil Woodford was among the managers to achieve the honour, which focuses on a longer-term track record. This month, Woodford blasted “fake information and fake analysis” about his flagship UK Equity Income fund, which has been shedding investors since assets reached a peak of £10.72bn in May 2017.
Other fund managers that have also stayed five years in the Hall of Fame include Giles Hargreave, from Marlborough Fund Managers, John Chatfeild-Roberts, whose Jupiter range was recently downgraded by Morningstar due to its overreliance on active funds, and Jenny Jones, who is retiring from Schroders this month.
Managers with five consecutive years in FE Hall of Fame:
| Name | Group |
| Andrew Brough | Schroders |
| Andrew Green | Gam |
| Barry Norris | Argonaut Capital Partners |
| Daniel Nickols | Merian Global Investors |
| David Dudding | Columbia Threadneedle Investments |
| Giles Hargreave | Marlborough Fund Managers |
| Gordon Grender | Gam |
| Harry Nimmo | Aberdeen Standard Investments |
| Jenny Jones | Schroders |
| John Chatfeild-Roberts | Jupiter |
| Leigh Himsworth | Fidelity |
| Mark Slater | Slater Investments |
| Martin Lau | First State Investments |
| Neil Woodford | Woodford Investment Management |
| Richard Pease | Crux Asset Management |
| Richard Woolnough | M&G |
| Robin Hepworth | Edentree Investment Management |
