Killik opens high performing special situations strategy

Killik & Co is launching a focused UK special situations fund which returned 82% in testing last year, more than double the index.

Managed by Mike Savage (above), the Killik Capital Special Situations service is a segregated discretionary managed account for clients comprising 10 to 15 stocks from a core list of 60 companies.

Portfolios are managed on a bespoke basis, according to the client’s risk profile, with a minimum investment of £50,000.

Savage launched the Killik Capital Special Sits Virtual portfolio at the beginning of last year and it proved to be a viable concept, outperforming the FTSE All-Share by some 48% over the course of the year. 

‘The idea is that I become “the broker’s broker” and drive growth in the business from signing up contacts from the fund management and broking community. There has been a huge amount of interest in the product,’ Savage said.

‘I am targeting City professionals and experienced investors and Killik is bringing in private clients interested in securing small and mid-cap exposure,’ he said.

A bottom-up investor, Savage said he tends to have more of a growth bias. He highlights satellite broadband provider Avanti, set-top box manufacturer Pace, and AIM-listed Kalahari Minerals as stocks he is particularly bullish on.

‘Holdings are designed for 12 months but every now and again they will be opportunistic,’ he said.

Savage, a former analyst who has enjoyed spells at Bridgewell Securities, Investec Securities, Collins Stewart and Kleinwort Benson, has built up Killik’s institutional offering since he joined the firm in 2006.

He said idea generation came from his broking contacts and relationships with UK fund managers, institutional salespeople, corporate PRs and the Killik & Co research and investment management teams.