CONSIDER THESE THRIVING GURUS...

TERRY SMITH FUNDSMITH UK EQUITY

LEGENDARY fund manager Terry Smith has totally eclipsed Woodford since the launch of Equity Income. His Fundsmith Equity fund has delivered a return 15 times that of Woodford – 150 per cent compared to 10 per cent. Over the past three years, the equivalent returns are 73 per cent and minus 7 per cent.

But there are differences. Smith’s Fundsmith Equity is heavily invested in the United States, holding stakes in the country’s strongest brands (the likes of Facebook, Microsoft, PayPal and Philip Morris) – Equity Income is UK focused. So, when the American stock market sneezes, Fundsmith Equity catches a cold – for example, it fell 6.9 per cent last December. There is also little income – its dividend yield is 1.6 per cent compared to Equity Income’s 4.1 per cent.

NICK TRAIN LINDSELL TRAIN GLOBAL EQUITY

LONG-standing fund manager Nick Train has also trounced Woodford. Over the past three years His Lindsell Train Global Equity has delivered a return of 81 per cent. Again, the fund is internationally invested although among its top holdings are FTSE100 stalwarts Diageo and Unilever. Nearly 28 per cent of the fund’s £6billion assets are invested in the UK. Like Fundsmith Equity, it is not targeted at income seekers.

HUGH YARROW EVENLODE INCOME

YARROW has been around the City block, learning his

trade at Rathbone Investment Management before launching Evenlode Income in 2009. Like Woodford, Yarrow runs the fund out of Oxfordshire (Chipping Norton).

Over the past three years, it has delivered a return of 42 per cent – fishing in the same market as Woodford (UK stocks, with an income bent). Top holdings include AstraZeneca, Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever.

Ben Peters assists Yarrow on the fund as well as being lead manager on Evenlode Global Income, a fund with a similar mandate to Evenlode Income but with an international remit. Big holdings include Nestle, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.

BEST OF THE REST

AS WELL as being a fan of Yarrow at Evenlode, Jason Hollands, of fund platform Bestinvest, likes Richard Colwell at Threadneedle UK Equity Income. Top holdings include AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Imperial Brands and WM Morrison.

He is also a fan of Ben Whitmore at Jupiter Income, a contrarian renowned for identifying undervalued companies.

Yearsley likes Adrian Frost at Artemis Income – the ‘grandfather of equity income investing’ – and Clive Beagles at JO Hambro UK Equity Income (an excellent longterm investor).

Beagles is also liked by Fund Expert’s Brian Dennehy.

Chase’s Fearns is a fan of Carl Stick who has run Rathbone Income since 2000 and Daniel Roberts who has managed Fidelity Global Dividend for the past seven years.

Laith Khalaf likes Frost and Whitmore while Interactive’s Lipski opts for Job Curtis (27 years managing income friendly investment trust City of London) and Martin Cholwill, manager of Royal London UK Equity Income for more than a decade.

Finally, AJ Bell’s Hughes likes Henry Dixon at Man GLG UK Income.

With a dividend yield in excess of four per cent, his fund pays investors a monthly income.