Schroders to launch US Alpha Plus fund next month

Schroders is launching an onshore US Equity Alpha fund for head of US large cap equities Joanna Shatney on 14 December.

Shatney has run a Luxembourg-domiciled version of the fund since 15 December 2010.

The fund will be a concentrated version of the US team's best ideas and will invest in up to 50 companies with a market cap above $1bn. Cash levels can be taken as high as 15% on the fund and it will be benchmarked against the S&P 500.

Shatney's top holdings on the offshore US Equity Alpha fund include Apple at 6.1%, Google at 4.2% and Reynolds American at 4.1%.

Commenting on the launch, Shatney said: "This fund only contains our highest conviction stocks and we are very growth focused with all the holdings. It lets us concentrate on where we really love to invest."

Shatney has been a portfolio manager for the US Large Cap Equity and US All Cap products since 2007, after joining Schroders in 2005.

Robin Stoakley, managing director UK intermediary at Schroders, said: "We think the time is ripe for a concentrated, high conviction portfolio in the US equities space."

The new fund will be added to Schroders' current duo of onshore US funds both run by Jenny Jones - US Mid Cap and US Smaller Companies.

It will also bring the total number of Schroders' Alpha Plus funds to six. The other funds in the range include UK Alpha Plus managed by Richard Buxton; European Alpha Plus run by Leon Howard-Spink; Asian Alpha Plus managed by Matthew Dobbs; Japan Alpha Plus run by Nathan Gibbs and Global Alpha Plus managed by Virginie Maisonneueve.