Wright took over the £501m closed-end fund last September from Sanjeev Shah, who following his decision in 2012 to hand over the investment trust announced he had decided to step back from fund management entirely.
Reflecting on Wright’s progress, the board of Special Values said that with its new manager at the helm the trust’s net asset value (NAV) had grown by 44.8%, and its share price by 63.1%, well ahead of the FTSE All-Share’s 18.9% rise over the same stretch.
Moreover, the board added that Wright’s shrewd move to avoid “fashionable” stocks where a high proportion of earnings come from emerging markets had paid off. “On the whole, it was a good year to be a contrarian investor,” the directors said.
Added resources
Looking ahead, the next 12 months will see Wright take over Shah’s open-ended Fidelity Special Situations. The fund, which was once managed by Anthony Bolton, currently has more than £2.8bn in assets, and in addition to his investment trust, Wright will manage the vehicle alongside his £271m Fidelity UK Smaller Companies Fund.
Touching on this, the Fidelity Special Values board used the trust’s final results to put investors’ minds at ease and said it had been reassured Wright could cope with the extra duties.
“The board has been assured that Alex has been provided with sufficient additional resources in order to take on this extra responsibility and also that Fidelity Special Values will continue to retain its unique portfolio construction which will be run by Alex independently from Special Situations,” it told investors.
