Saracen confident of funds from new clients

Group Business Editor

Friday 3 August 2012

SCOTTISH-headquartered Saracen Fund Managers is confident of bringing in millions of pounds of new client money amid solid investment performance and heavy investment in marketing.

LOOKING FORWARD: Jim Fisher, right, and Craig Yeaman of Saracen Fund Managers. Picture: Colin Mearns

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Ian McConnell

Saracen founder Jim Fisher, who together with fellow fund manager Graham Campbell has a majority stake in the business, revealed that revenues had dipped marginally in the year to March 31 to just under £500,000 from slightly more than £500,000.

He said property-related expenses associated with Saracen's recent move from Glasgow to Edinburgh; costs relating to the launch of Saracen's Global Income & Growth fund last year; and investment in marketing with the recruitment of Chris Howard as London-based sales director had pushed Saracen into the red. However, he emphasised this move into the red was deliberate as Saracen invested for future growth.Highlighting his belief that Saracen could increase its funds under management significantly from about £45 million currently, Mr Fisher said: "I would be astonished if we don't bring more money in."He revealed that Saracen had made a pre-tax loss of nearly £103,000 in the year to March 2012, compared with a profit of £85,000 in the prior 12 months.Mr Fisher said the investment house's £40m Saracen Growth Fund, which he manages with colleague Craig Yeaman, achieved a total return on net asset value of about 6.5% in the six months to June. This meant the fund, which invests in UK companies and has done well recently from holdings including Glasgow engineering company Weir Group, touch-screen technology firm Zytronic, and City of London Investment Group, was well ahead of the 2.5% total return on its FTSE All-Share Index benchmark.Mr Fisher said the international £5m Saracen Global Income & Growth fund, run by Mr Campbell and Daniel Leaf, was by June 30 up 3% on its June 2011 launch level, with the share price up from 100p to about 103p.He said: "Given what has gone on, and continues to go on, in the euro [area], that is not bad."He noted the Global Income & Growth fund aimed to preserve capital for investors, while providing them with a bit of income which was going to grow. This fund invests in big, well-known international companies and has done well from a relatively heavy weighting towards the US.Saracen Growth Fund, Mr Fisher said, was "more about stock selection" and "trying to beat the index".Highlighting hopes of expansion, Mr Fisher said: "We have got to keep the performance going. We have got to get the message out. We would hope to grow significantly on the UK side as well, but I think the potential on the international side is huge. What we are really trying to achieve is to get the international [fund] between £10m and £20m. A lot of people are interested."He pointed out potential investors wanted to put perhaps £5m into Saracen Global Income & Growth, but could not really do this at the moment given it was relatively small. Mr Fisher outlined the aim of achieving a "virtuous circle" in which new money flowed into Saracen Global Income & Growth, making it bigger and thus enabling larger inflows of funds from clients.He noted that Saracen had targeted wealth managers, such as Brewin Dolphin, Brooks Macdonald, and Rathbone Brothers, who look after money for high-net-worth individuals.Mr Campbell earlier this year noted that a large part of the Global Income & Growth portfolio was in big-brand companies such as restaurant chain McDonald's, household products companies Procter & Gamble and Unilever, and drinks giant Coca-Cola.

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Saracen confident of funds from new clients

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