Doel piles into large caps to maintain top ranking

F&C manager introduces put and call options with greater mega-cap emphasis to enhance yield and bring fund's performance back to top quartile.

Phil Doel has revamped the £192m F&C UK Equity Income fund since taking over the vehicle two years ago, giving the portfolio a greater focus on mega caps and introducing put and call options in a bid to enhance the fund’s yield. The approach has paid off and the fund is now back in the top quartile in the IMA UK Equity Income sector, returning 24.3% compared to the sector’s 20.4% over one year, according to Morningstar. Last week, F&C announced plans to merge its £31m Growth & Income fund into Doel’s UK Equity Income fund, and the manager is preparing to put more of the restructured...