Keith Ashworth-Lord’s Premier ConBrio Sanford Deland UK Buffettology fund has been one of the best performing UK equity funds since its launch in March 2011, with the manager attributing that performance to the investment principles of legendary US investor, Warren Buffett.
While it is still early days, the now £17.8m fund has been a top decile performer in the IMA UK All Companies sector over that time with 57.27 per cent, nearly doubling the returns of the FTSE All Share in the process, according to data from FE Analytics.
Performance of fund vs sector and index since Mar 2011
Source: FE Analytics
As FE Trustnet highlighted last week, that margin of outperformance has led to the Buffettology fund getting a five crown-rating by FE at the first time of asking.
Though the fund itself has only a three year track record, Ashworth-Lord, who previously worked as an investment analyst and stockbroker, has been mirroring the “Sage of Omaha’s” investment strategy within his own personal portfolio since the 1990s.
“After 15 years in the business, I had a pretty decent sized portfolio but I didn’t have an anchor. I kept flip-flopping from one investment style to another,” Ashworth-Lord (pictured) explained.
“I said to myself, I need to get an investment philosophy nailed down. It was through that that I bumped into Jeremy Utton, who I worked with on investment research publication ‘Analyst’, and we had both been rigorously analysing the Buffett Style.”
“We went at it like a couple of converts and we really bought into long-term value investing.”
Having attended numerous Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) AGMs and eventually meeting the man himself, Ashworth-Lord was contacted by David Clark and Mary Buffett, the authors of various “Buffettologist” books, in February 2009 and given exclusive rights to Buffett name and a 10-year licence period to copy the investor’s distinct long term, value-orientated approach within a UK equity fund.
H/T dataroma
