One or all? Star manager versus team approach

Better off backing a lone manager or a team?

With the performance and suspension of Woodford Equity Income hitting the headlines this year, Ellie Duncan investigates whether investors are better off backing a lone fund manager or a team.

The star manager approach to running funds has come under scrutiny again recently due to the woes of Neil Woodford. Having established his reputation for stockpicking at Invesco Perpetual, where he ran UK equity income funds, Woodford left the asset manager in 2014 to set up Woodford Investment Management. But trading was suspended in the Woodford Equity Income fund on 3 June after a period of underperformance led to significant withdrawals from the fund, which did not have the liquidity to meet demand. Many investors will have followed Woodford from Invesco to his own company, aft...