RLAM's Mitchell benefits from long-term oil and tobacco bets

UK Growth manager keeps faith in long-term positions although both sectors have suffered short-term blip and hit his returns in recent months

Bradley Mitchell's first two years at the helm of Royal London's UK growth mandate have resulted in top-quartile one-, three- and five-year results. The manager of the £90m RLAM UK Growth Trust has successfully implemented a high-conviction, bottom-up philosophy. He reduced bank exposure and upped oil holdings in the fund on taking over and both moves have seen the fund navigate the credit crunch well. But shorter-term performance figures have taken a hit recently as a result of the oil price downturn. Higher conviction Mitchell said when he inherited the fund at the start of 20...