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Investment style positioning of UK unit trusts

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  • David Brookfield
  • Chen Su
  • Kenbata Bangassa

Abstract

We investigate the investment style positioning of UK equity unit trusts (mutual funds) over the 24-year period from 1987 to 2010 and assess if fund manager claims to follow a particular style strategy are evidenced in practice. Generally, UK unit trusts do not, in fact, consistently track declared styles but subject their funds to style switching or rotation. Nor do funds switch to become simple index trackers, as has widely been reported, but exhibit a mix of behaviour that we refer to as 'market-momentum styling'. Our contribution is to offer a coherent, end-to-end picture of the evolution of investment styles over an economic cycle. In so doing we evidence that fund style positioning is subject to rotation and becomes subordinated to past portfolio performance or style momentum. Even this result is conditional as we go on to demonstrate that style investment is very likely to be driven by broader economic conditions, thereby creating market-momentum styling by default. This is arguably not a style at all and calls into question the intent behind fund 'strategies'.

Suggested Citation

  • David Brookfield & Chen Su & Kenbata Bangassa, 2015. "Investment style positioning of UK unit trusts," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(10-11), pages 946-970, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurjfi:v:21:y:2015:i:10-11:p:946-970
    DOI: 10.1080/1351847X.2013.788533
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen Su & Hanxiong Zhang & Kenbata Bangassa & Nathan Lael Joseph, 2019. "On the investment value of sell-side analyst recommendation revisions in the UK," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 257-293, July.
    2. Chen Su, 2021. "A comprehensive investigation into style momentum strategies in China," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 35(1), pages 101-144, March.

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