SVM's Veitch optimistic on market prospects

Manager of SVM UK Opportunities vehicle remains bullish despite volatility, seeking exposure to companies involved in support services and infrastructure

Neil Veitch took over management of the SVM UK Opportunities fund two years ago. Although he has avoided the worst-performing sectors through the credit crunch and subsequent market volatility, he has struggled to perform over the past year. Veitch, who employs a bottom-up stock selection approach, has completely avoided banks, real estate and been generally underweight the UK consumer. In addition, he has also been overweight resources, oil and gas and industrials. Despite this, the portfolio has returned -21.6% against a UK All Companies sector average of -13.6% over the last year...