Ultimately, Butcher is in the job for the clients. She feels the trust she has built up with them is what allows the team to operate its slightly contrarian approach to Europe.
“I believe we have a socially responsible role and we are important to the economy” she asserts. “At the end of the day it’s about the end client. I think all the time about the person whose money I’m running and what that money is for. It’s for education, for retirement and for all the things they want to do in life, and that’s our responsibility.”
Fund picker’s view
Ryan Hughes
Head of fund selection, AJ Bell
“This fund has steadily been gaining traction over the past few years as Stephanie Butcher has outperformed her peers with a strong five-year performance. Having managed the fund for seven years, Stephanie has seen it through a variety of market conditions and has developed a strong approach to equity income investing.
“Unsurprisingly, given its remit, the fund is tilted towards large caps with a value bias, although currently the fund is underweight in the traditional defensive sectors of consumer staples, healthcare and utilities, giving it an overall underweight to mega caps in the universe.
“It’s worth noting the ‘lumpy’ nature of the returns with two excellent years against the broad benchmark in 2013 and 2016. While this points towards a process that can perform strongly while in favour, there is a risk of underperformance when the style is no longer in favour. While the fund is solid, there may be stronger alternatives for investors looking for equity income within European equities.”
Biography
Stephanie Butcher joined Invesco Perpetual in 2003. Based in the firm’s Henley-on-Thames office, she is responsible for a number of European equity portfolios, specialising in European equity income investing. Butcher began her investment career at Lazard Asset Management in 1993 as a graduate trainee and progressed to become a US fund manager responsible for institutional and retail portfolios. She joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 1997, initially as a US portfolio manager running insurance and institutional funds, before moving on to the company’s European equities desk in 1998 as a fund manager with responsibility for a number of retail funds.
