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Jacobson launches new ‘Fundamental’ fund

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London-based Jacobson Fund Managers is launching a new fund aimed at investing in early-stage companies based predominantly in the UK.


The Jacobson Fundamental Equi

London-based Jacobson Fund Managers is launching a new fund aimed at investing in early-stage companies based predominantly in the UK.


The Jacobson Fundamental Equity Fund will combine the growth opportunities offered by both pre and post IPO companies as they develop new products and expand into new markets with Jacobson’s existing market hedging strategies.


The fund’s investment team, headed by lead fund manager Sarah Wadham, has already identified companies for initial investment from a wide range of sectors including technology; information and data management; communications and media; pharmaceutical; and healthcare. The fund will target companies with a defined exit strategy through a listing or a trade sale within three to five years. 


“Over the last ten years the UK has seen an ‘entrepreneurial revolution’,” said Wadham. “The UK has always been a source of excellent ideas but for many years did not have the economic infrastructure to develop these and the best ideas were exported to other countries. This has changed.


“The availability of development capital, together with access to stock markets tailored to early stage companies, has led to the emergence of some really successful companies. During the last four years working in the early stage sector, I have met some excellent management teams with really good and original ideas and the ability to develop these commercially. I am delighted to be combining this experience with the proven fund management and investment experience of Jacobson, to launch this new fund.


“Putting emphasis on fundamental company analysis of market, management team, product and financials, combined with a real involvement with these companies to help them to realise their potential will, in combination with the risk mitigating strategy of the Jacobson Hedge Funds, be a winning combination.”


Dr Henry Green, Chairman of Jacobson, said: “The major equity markets are very mature and while there is still a place for quantitative hedged portfolio investing, the returns from these can no longer be expected to reach former levels. In current markets, and in those we believe lie ahead, we need to return to a fundamental approach to investing in excellent companies, rather than just tracking share prices which can no longer provide consistent value added returns to investors.


“Sarah has twenty-five years real experience of successful investing both in UK and US listed companies and in UK early stage companies with firms such as Hill Samuel, Charterhouse Japhet, Dominick & Dominick LLC (Investment Broker and Director of Corporate Finance) and Anvil Partners (Director of Corporate Finance). The emphasis of the Jacobson Fundamental Equity Fund is to approach investments through in-depth investment analysis that requires every potential investee company to be subject to a full due diligence process.


“To sum up, we are going to invest in companies we really know about and that are positioned to capitalise on their skills, products and market presence.”


Jacobson have undertaken a considerable amount of research to arrive at a formula that takes Sarah Wadham’s fundamental investment approach and combines it with the equity market hedging strategies that the company has successfully managed in the UK and US equity markets over the last six years. The new fund will target returns in the 12% to 15% range consistent with the returns from development capital investment in the UK over the last ten years.


The fund offers institutions and sophisticated high net worth investors the opportunity to invest in an asset class where there is strong fundamental growth combined with a professional approach to asset management and risk mitigation.  The Fund is not competing with the mass of VCT and EIS funds which have been set up to benefit from the substantial tax incentives offered to UK taxpayers.  Investments will be made through a new share class in the existing Jacobson Global Hedge Fund; a SAC structured Bermuda domiciled Mutual Fund with shares listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.


 

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