Investors have pulled an additional £1.7bn from Terry Smith's flagship Fundmetrics fund, extending a period of significant outflows. The fund, once a darling of the UK investment scene, has seen sustained withdrawals as performance lags behind benchmarks.
Continued Outflows
The latest redemptions bring total outflows from the fund to over £5bn in the past year. Industry analysts attribute this to a combination of disappointing returns and a shift in investor sentiment towards more passive strategies.
Performance Concerns
Fundmetrics, known for its concentrated portfolio of high-quality stocks, has underperformed the broader market recently. The fund's focus on defensive names has weighed on returns during a period of strong growth in technology and cyclical sectors.
Investor Sentiment
Wealth managers and financial advisers have been reducing client exposure to the fund, citing the need for more diversified holdings. Some investors have moved capital into cheaper index-tracking funds or alternative active managers with stronger recent records.
Despite the outflows, the fund still manages over £20bn in assets. Terry Smith remains a respected figure in the investment community, and his firm continues to attract assets to other strategies.
