Invesco European Equity Class Z - Accumulation (GBP)

Jeff Taylor, Head of European Equities at Invesco Perpetual, has managed this fund since January 2001. Performance has been somewhat inconsistent versus the index although it has outperformed in aggregate. The fund got off to a good start under the manager's stewardship and also held up well as the global financial crisis intensified in 2008. It lagged the market rebound from early 2009 but performance improved from mid-2012. More recently our data suggests positive stock picking has driven returns, however, historically it has been more inconsistent.

Stockmarkets are inefficient providing the opportunity to invest in businesses trading below their fundamental worth. The manager has a pragmatic investment approach and believes value can be added by detailed company research, supplemented by analysis of wider economic factors.

Company-specific research is carried out using a combination of proprietary and external information with a focus on valuing businesses. Meetings with company management are also considered important. The aim is to identify companies whose current and future prospects are not accurately reflected in their valuation and where the team feel there is a trigger for this mis-valuation to be recognised by the market.

Consideration is also given to the wider economic environment and this may influence portfolio construction, particularly at market or economic turning points.

The result is a relatively concentrated portfolio of around 50 holdings. Positioning may vary significantly from the benchmark from both a sector or country perspective. There are no formal country, sector or stock limits and no restrictions in terms of the size of companies purchased, although there is a bias towards larger companies.