You can beat the market by backing out-of-favour stocks

WHAT DOES IT DO? Fund manager Alex Wright is a so-called contrarian investor, which means he finds opportunities by picking out-of-favour firms he believes have improving prospects but are being overlooked by other investors.

WHAT DOES THE MANAGER SAY? UK banks are seen as a risky sector to invest in. They have been hit hard in the years since the financial crisis by billions in fines and much tighter regulation. But Wright thinks there are opportunities to be had in the financial sector. One of his biggest investments is Lloyds Banking Group.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? Ryan Hughes, head of fund selection at AJ Bell, says: ‘Wright follows a high conviction approach and is comfortable running a portfolio that looks very different to the FTSE.’ The trust is currently shunning many UK blue-chips in favour of medium and smaller companies such as buildings materials firm CRH and bookies Ladbrokes Coral.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS LIKE? Hughes described it as ‘a very interesting trust run by a very talented manager’.

AND ARE THERE ANY DOWNSIDES? Wright’s approach has seen him consistently outperform since he took the helm of the trust in 2012 – it has returned 142.9pc over the past five years, compared to an average of 76.7pc among his peer group. But this style of investing can make for a bumpy ride and investors should be willing to tie their cash up for the long term.