With so many funds available, it can be difficult to know where to begin when building an investment portfolio. The Discovery Shortlist is one way to help investors narrow down from the thousands of funds available to a more manageable starting point.
Chosen by our Investment Research Team, the shortlist of third party funds is designed to assist investors in creating diversified, well-balanced portfolios. The Discovery Shortlist is based on in-depth research and analysis and is comprised of funds across all the major sectors that our specialist team view as interesting long-term investment opportunities.
Only funds which meet our strict selection criteria are chosen to be included on the Discovery Shortlist– if we lose our conviction, the funds are removed.
To access our Discovery Shortlist you'll need to register with us. Once registered you'll be able to access a library of our latest research and insights.
Log in or registerHow do we produce the Discovery Shortlist?
The Discovery Shortlist contains a mixture of both funds that are designed to generate an income and funds that focus on growth. We ensure there is balance across all major asset classes and group the funds into the following five categories; bonds, equities, developed markets, emerging markets and diversifiers.
Our research process is focused on identifying a fund manager’s skill. To define this, we look at four key areas:
People
It's important for us to understand the fund manager themselves and the organisation they work for. We look at how they attract and retain talent and whether their interests align with our own.
Philosophy
We speak to the manager to learn about their culture and gain insight into what 'edge' they believe they have and what inefficiencies they are trying to exploit.
Process
We look for the manager to demonstrate that their processes and strategy are robust, repeatable, and are resilient in differing market conditions.
Performance
We view performance as a product of the former three areas, as opposed to the starting point. We believe performance should be consistent with both philosophy and process and we aim to find managers who are truly adding value for investors.
Our process and governance
The Discovery Shortlist process and governance
- 23 Aug 22
- 6.52MB
This document details the process we go through when updating the Discovery Shortlist, including explaining our team's research methodology, the analysis of the funds, and the maintenance and oversight of the list.
DownloadWho is it for?
The shortlist of third party funds is designed to assist investors in creating diversified, well-balanced portfolios which have the greatest potential for long-term performance.
If you are a Self-Directed investor and the prospect of choosing investments is somewhat daunting, the Discovery Shortlist could be one way to help you get started.
The Discovery Shortlist is available to existing clients and can be accessed via our online portal. This is just one artefact in a library of research articles, educational information and tools that we offer to help investors make better informed decisions.
The shortlist was created for investors who are confident in choosing their own investments and is not a personal recommendation to buy funds. Equally, if a fund you own is not on the Discovery Shortlist, we're not recommending you sell it. You must ensure that any fund you choose to invest in is suitable for your own, personal circumstances.
Meet the team
Our analysts meet face-to-face with hundreds of fund managers each year in order to assess against our key principles. We continuously monitor the funds for any changes in our assessment criteria which might impact future returns or change our confidence in their performance potential. Given the significant amount of analysis and research undertaken we do not expect to see frequent fund changes, which supports our view that the Discovery Shortlist contains funds which are suitable for the long-term.
Matthew Stanesby
Managing Director
Matthew Stanesby
Managing Director
- London City
- matthew.stanesby@closebrothers.com
- +44 (0) 207 426 4730
Matthew joined Close Brothers Asset Management in 2007 and heads up the Manager Research team which is responsible for the research, selection and monitoring of fund managers. He is also a portfolio manager for the Close Managed Fund range of multi-asset funds.
Matthew started his career in the actuarial and investment consulting world and worked within the life insurance, pensions and investment teams at Mercer and Aon. He graduated from Nottingham University with a First Class Honours Degree in Mathematics with Engineering.
James Davies
Investment Manager
James Davies
Investment Manager
- Bristol
- james.davies@closebrothers.com
- +44 (0) 117 917 0678
James Davies is a portfolio manager and senior fund research specialist, working within the firm’s Multi-Manager and Manager Research teams.
James began his investment career with Chartwell Group in 2003, where in addition to managing their discretionary offering from 2009 he was also the firms principal press spokesperson on investment matters. In 2010, Chartwell was wholly acquired by Close Brothers Plc. James holds a BScEcon in International Relations from Aberystwyth University.
Sam Grant-Dalton
Investment Manager
Sam Grant-Dalton
Investment Manager
- London City
- sam.grant-dalton@closebrothers.com
- +44 (0) 207 426 4330
Sam is an Investment Manager and a core part of the committee deciding asset allocation. He attends company and analyst meetings and has a particular interest in third-party fund analysis. Sam is co-fund manager of the Close Managed Fund range.
Sam joined Close Brothers Asset Management in 2010 from Fortune Asset Management. He studied at Imperial College, London and is a candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme.
Aidan Harvey
Investment Analyst
Aidan Harvey
Investment Analyst
- London City
- aidan.harvey@closebrothers.com
- +44 (0) 20 7426 4705
After spending a decade working for IFA businesses managing Model Portfolios and providing Investment Specialist support, Aidan joined Close Brothers Asset Management in 2016 through their acquisition of Eos Wealth. He is an Investment Analyst for the Close Managed Fund range, and also sits on the wider Fund Research Team.
Looking for alternative ways of investing?
If you don't feel comfortable building and maintaining your own portfolio and would prefer we do the hard work for you, we offer ready-made portfolios to suit a range of investment objectives. Please note, no advice is being given as to the suitability of any of the funds within the shortlist for your personal needs or within the ready-made portfolios. Any decisions are your own responsibility. For those who feel they could benefit from financial advice, please contact us for a complimentary no obligation consultation with one of our experienced financial advisers.
Advice
Would you benefit from us selecting and managing your investments on your behalf? Speak to one of our friendly, qualified advisers.
Ready-made portfolios
Want us to take the hard work out of managing your investments? Use our Portfolio Selector tool to choose which of our portfolios suit you.
Self-Directed
Confident creating your own portfolio? Choose all your own investments with our Self-Directed service.