small-cap

Gold funds were standout winners in August as investors' appetite for risk waned amid concerns of a tapering of monetary stimulus in the US and potential military action in Syria.

TOP PERFORMERS

Investors who held their nerve and bought in to equity markets at the bottom in 2008 have made significant returns since then as markets recovered from the financial crisis.

Brown Advisory has brought together its small-cap growth and value strategies to launch a US Small-Cap Blend in its UCITS range.

Threadneedle has hired L&G Investment Management's Matthew Evans to its UK small-cap equity team as it strengthens its capabilities in the sector.

Richard Plackett has bought back into UK banks for the first time since the financial crisis in his BlackRock UK Special Situations fund as the sector begins to show signs of improvement.

BlackRock has hired Daniel Whitestone from UBS to bolster its UK small- and mid-cap equities team.

Threadneedle's head of UK smaller companies Dan Vaughan has taken an "extended sabbatical" from the group for the foreseeable future.

Hermes has listed its 11-strong suite of UCITS funds in the IMA sectors, ramping up its push into the UK wholesale market just as Jupiter's John Chatfeild-Roberts buys into one offering.

F&C Investments is planning to launch a global small-cap equity fund for Catherine Stanley next month, filling a gap in its smaller companies product range.