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Fund research

M&G Recovery removed from the Wealth 50

We've removed the M&G Recovery Fund from the Wealth 50 list of our favourite funds for new investment. Find out why in this update.

Important information - This article isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure whether an investment is right for you please seek advice. If you choose to invest the value of your investment will rise and fall, so you could get back less than you put in.

This article is more than 5 years old

It was correct at the time of publishing. Our views and any references to tax, investment, and pension rules may have changed since then.

Investments can go down as well as up so there is always a danger that you could get back less than you invest. Nothing here is personalised advice, if unsure you should seek advice.

We've removed the M&G Recovery Fund from the Wealth 50 list of our favourite funds for new investment.

The fund's been on the Wealth 50 (formerly the Wealth 150) since October 2007 and outperformed the broader UK stock market by 8.5% in its first five years on the list. However, since early 2012, performance has struggled in comparison with the broader UK stock market.

Tom Dobell tries to invest in companies that have fallen upon hard times, but where there is scope for a recovery. This “value” style of investing has largely been out of favour for much of the past decade, so we'd expect some underperformance from Dobell’s fund.

Even the best fund managers go through poor periods, and we're usually happy to support them through weaker periods, providing we retain conviction in their ability to perform well over the long run. But we've started to doubt Tom Dobell's ability to outperform.

In short periods where unloved, value-style companies returned to favour, the fund didn’t do quite as well as we'd have expected, meaning our patience went unrewarded.

Since September 2019, value-style companies have been back in vogue. This boosted the performance of other funds with a similar approach but we're disappointed that the M&G Recovery Fund once again appears to be missing out.

The manager's also increased exposure to early-stage businesses, arguing that their low valuations and future potential justify their positions in the portfolio. The danger is that these smaller investments take up too much of the manager's time and the rest of the portfolio suffers. They're also more difficult to buy and sell (less liquid) than their larger counterparts.

Overall, we feel there are lots of talented fund managers in the UK All-Companies sector and we currently have more conviction in others to deliver stronger performance over the long run. Our favourites can be found on the Wealth 50.

This research note is not personal advice, or a recommendation to make any changes to a portfolio. If you're not sure if an investment is suitable for your circumstances, please seek advice.

Annual percentage growth
Nov 14 -
Nov 15
Nov 15 -
Nov 16
Nov 16 -
Nov 17
Nov 17 -
Nov 18
Nov 18 -
Nov 19
M&G Recovery -5.8% 13.7% 11.9% -5.5% -0.9%
FTSE All-Share 0.6% 9.8% 13.4% -1.5% 11.0%

Past performance is not a guide to the future. Source: Lipper IM to 30/11/2019

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Key Investor Information


Important information - Please remember the value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you invest. This article is provided to help you make your own investment decisions, it is not advice. If you are unsure of the suitability of an investment for your circumstances please seek advice. No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal.

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Important information - Please remember the value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you invest. This article is provided to help you make your own investment decisions, it is not advice. If you are unsure of the suitability of an investment for your circumstances please seek advice. No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal.
Written by
Dom Rowles
Dominic Rowles
Lead ESG Analyst

Dominic leads the team responsible for developing ESG integration across the business, and ensuring best practice is upheld.

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Article history
Published: 17th December 2019