Robbins cuts Google weighting in Premier Global Alpha Growth
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Jake Robbins has halved the Premier Global Alpha Growth fund’s allocation to internet giant Google as he puts his stamp on the portfolio.
Robbins became the lead manager of the £9.8m portfolio in November last year and has since made numerous changes to its construction.
One of the most recent tweaks is a trimming in the allocation to Google. The California-based company was a longstanding feature of the fund’s top holdings.
At the end of 2011, it was the fund’s top holding and accounted for 5.28% of the portfolio. However, Robbins reduced this allocation to about 2.5% during January.
Robbins says Google’s latest financial results, which caused the stock to fall after its revenue and profit growth came in below in analysts’ expectations, were “disappointing”.
“In the short term it wasn’t justified as being such a large holding so it was reduced,” the manager says.
“[Google] ticks a lot of boxes but it’s probably going to tread water for three months until it can prove the investment going into the business is resulting in revenue growth and better margins.”
Other recent disposals include mobile communications carrier Vodafone and a number of European financials. The manager has also cut the weighting to pharmaceutical company Novartis, which was the largest holding at the time of his arrival.
Explaining the reasons for the moves, Robbins says better investment opportunities can be found in other parts of the global stage, such as in US mid-cap quality cyclicals.
The manager has since increased his stake in computing giant Apple. Other recent purchases for the portfolio include oil rig equipment manufacturer National Oilwell Varco, US broadcaster CBS and construction, mining and utility equipment firm Komatsu.
Caterpillar, which Robbins lauds as a “market leader in mining equipment”, is the fund’s top position at 4.27% of the portfolio.
“They are fabulously placed to benefit from continued emergence of China and the growth of south-east Asia and Latin America,” Robbins says.
The Premier Global Alpha Growth fund has outperformed since Robbins took over, returning 3% in the three months to January 31 against the IMA Global Growth sector’s average of 1.8%.
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