The Hermes US SMID Equity Fund is managed by a team of four investment professionals, led by Anstey and his team is part of the nine-strong Hermes Small & Mid Cap boutique, which has been investing in small and mid-cap companies for the past 25 years.
The holding period of stocks within the strategy is three to five years and it will be benchmarked against the Russell 2500 Index.
Anstey’s strategy has a record of 10.7% growth per annum (as at 30 June 2012) since inception in 2001 versus the benchmark of 8.7% per annum. He has also produced top decile returns within his Lipper peer group over one, three and five years, to the end of June.
Hermes said these returns have been achieved with relatively low risk for the asset class, with the portfolio generating an information ratio of 0.88 over the past five years.
This new Ucits fund adds to Hermes’ existing range, which includes the UK Small & Mid Companies, Sourcecap European Alpha, Japan Equity, Global Emerging Markets, Global Equity Select, Quant Global Equity, Global High Yield and Global Investment Grade funds.
Anstey said: “The European market is poorly served in terms of Ucits funds offering accessibility to US small and mid-caps at present. This investment strategy is designed to offer investors a relatively low risk way of investing in the asset class.
“As one of the largest US SMID cap equity managers based in London, our scale gives us good corporate access. We travel extensively around the US, meeting with around 250 management teams each year, and seek to buy high quality companies at a discount to their intrinsic value. Having a long-term approach allows us to take advantage of mispricing opportunities.”
