PSigma’s Bill Mott has unveiled initial plans to revamp his four Aberdeen funds, as the manager re-unites with his former Credit Suisse income mandates.
While Mott and co-manager Neil Cumming believe the £394m Aberdeen Income fund, previously run by Graham Ashby, is “generally in good shape”, the managers believe the portfolio is too concentrated.
Over time, Mott plans to increase the number of stocks from about 30 to upwards of 60. However, the fund will still run with fewer positions than the managers’ PSigma Income fund, which has 89 holdings.
The managers will also implement a more top-down approach to portfolio construction.
“The strong thematic approach we always adopt will drive the Aberdeen fund, so over time and as opportunities arise, the fund will move to underweight resources and mining stocks to reflect current thematic thinking,” Mott says.
The PSigma Income fund currently has just 1% in mining, against the 10% weighting for the FTSE All Share.
In the Aberdeen Monthly Income fund, also managed by Mott at Credit Suisse, the managers want to increase the number of holdings from about 30 to nearer 50, while implementing a more defensive feel.
Mott and Cumming expect to develop overweight positions in pharmaceuticals, tobaccos, oils and telecoms. They also plan to increase stock numbers from 30 to 40 in the Aberdeen Alpha Income fund, while allowing overweight positions to run up to 3% above the index.
Aberdeen Alpha Growth will also see a stock level increase as “opportunities arise”, up from 30 to 50.
Aberdeen Income is down 9.8% over one year to 3 August, against a 10% fall in the IMA UK Equity Income sector, according to Morningstar. PSigma Income is down 9.5% over the same period.
