Markets were mixed in November, leaving the collective 1.3 per cent return notched up by players in the Rehab Great Investment Race over the month looking creditable.
In better form than most in November was Mr James McSweeney at Setanta Asset Management. Mr McSweeney was an active trader on a small scale, moving in and out of positions according to his judgments on value and momentum.
The strategy worked well, helping Setanta to knock Montgomery Oppenheim off the overall top spot with a 6.1 per cent monthly gain.
Mr McSweeney did well as a seller of Allianz, Axa and ASML, retaining only Axa into December. His buying targets over the month included Cap Gemini and beleaguered insurance broker, Marsh & McLennan, both of which he also held into December.
AIB Investment Managers took second place in November, although the 4.2 per cent monthly gain was not enough to promote the firm from sixth place overall.
Fund manager Mr Lance Graham was boosted by the sale of UK food-service group, Compass, which appreciated strongly around the middle of November. He held on to positions in VNU, United Business Media, Li and Fung and Sandisk as December began, also maintaining a portion of his allocation in sterling and euro cash.
The third spot in November went to Hibernian Investment Managers (HIM), where fund manager Mr Lenny McLoughlin delivered a monthly gain of 4 per cent. This ensured that the firm retained its fourth position in the overall rankings with a 9.5 per cent return to date.
Mr McLoughlin made no disposals in November but added to his portfolio with the purchase of Taiwan Semiconductors, the world's largest contract manufacturer of semiconductors.
HIM's portion of the fund now has a strong Asian exposure, though Mr McLoughlin said this was based more on stock-specific factors than on regional projections. He also held on to Hong Kong diversified-trading company, Jardine Matheson, into December.
Montgomery Oppenheim came in fourth in November, sufficient to see it cede its top spot in the overall rankings to Setanta. The 3.6 per cent monthly gain came as fund manager Mr Richard Dunn allocated some cash to the purchase of a small stake in UK financial services firm, Man Group. He later sold this and bought back into another block, retaining this along with UTV into December.
Mr Dunn also maintained positions in Montgomery Oppenheim's Exempt Irish Equity Fund and in the MSCI Japan Index exchange-traded fund.
Bank of Ireland Asset Management's (BIAM) holding in Greencore brought in a monthly return of 0.4 per cent in November. Irish Life Investment Managers held on to its fifth place in the overall rankings in November by posting a 0.1 per cent monthly gain. Fund manager, Mr Séamus Magner, generated some upside from a number of trades in Santander as the Spanish bank was completing its purchase of Abbey National.
Standard Life suffered on the back of its holding in takeover play, Kidde, which fell sharply over the month.
