e-fundresearch: Which benchmark do you adhere to?
Somerville: The Fund is benchmarked against the Topix Index ($).
e-fundresearch: Are you also responsible for other funds at the moment?
Somerville: Yes. I manage the Jupiter Japan Income unit trust, a UK retail fund.
e-fundresearch: What is the total volume that you manage in all your funds?
Somerville: £210m
e-fundresearch: Regarding the performance: which performance did you achieve since the beginning of the year and in the years 2003-2008? Absolutely and relatively to the relevant benchmark?
Somerville: This is a new fund so I do not have long term performance statistics yet but if you take the Jupiter Japan Income Fund as a guide:
e-fundresearch: How content are you with your own performance in the last years and this year?
Somerville: I am disappointed with this year’s performance. Returns have been affected by the strong performance of auto stocks, where I have been underweight. However, I am happy with the previous year where my identification of strong, defensive cashflow businesses proved beneficial to returns.
e-fundresearch: How are you able to deliver added value for your investors with your performance?
Somerville: My process of using quantitative screening to identify opportunities, doing intensive fund analysis and visiting companies regularly to generate ideas add value.
e-fundresearch: How long have you been a fund manager already?
Somerville: I have been a fund manager since 1990.
e-fundresearch: What were your biggest successes and your biggest disappointments in your career as fund manager?
Somerville: Biggest disappointment – my performance this year due to the outperformance of auto stocks. Biggest success would be the consistent outperformance of the Jupiter Japan Income Fund since its launch.
e-fundresearch: What kind of capital market situation do we have at the moment? How do you act in this environment?
Somerville: We are in a cyclical recovery and I am looking to identify recovery opportunities.
e-fundresearch: What are the special challenges in this environment?
Somerville: Valuation measures can be tricky.
e-fundresearch: What objectives do you have till the end of the year and in the mid term for the upcoming 3 to 5 years?
Somerville: This year it would have to be to recover performance. Over the longer term, it would be to continue my track record of consistent outperformance and to grow funds under management in my two funds.
e-fundresearch: Do you model yourself on someone? Any ideals?
Somerville: Jupiter’s Philip Gibbs, who runs our financials funds. Philip has produced outstanding performance consistently over the long term and did an excellent job protecting investors during the downturn.
e-fundresearch: What motivates you in your job?
Somerville: The desire to be amongst the best fund managers in my sector.
e-fundresearch: What else do you want to achieve or do you have any further aims as a fund manager?
Somerville: To grow my funds and to develop the same strong presence in Europe as we have in the UK
e-fundresearch: What other profession would you have taken interest in, apart from becoming a fund manager?
Somerville: I love cooking so maybe I could have been a chef.
