Quilter has seeded a new fund to be included in its Responsible portfolios in the WealthSelect managed portfolio service (MPS).

The Van Berkom US Small Cap fund looks to invest in high-quality small-cap companies at discounted valuations and holds them for extended periods.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are integrated throughout the fund’s research and decision-making process, aiming to position the fund ahead of small-cap peers that have been slower to adopt robust ESG frameworks.

Van Berkom is a Canada-based specialist investment manager, with the fund being managed by a team of six, led by lead portfolio manager, Mathieu Sirois.

The addition of the Van Berkom US Small Cap fund comes following the launch of a new alternatives sub-advised mandate for the WealthSelect portfolios: the Quilter Investors Absolute Return Equity Fund, managed by Janus Henderson.

These changes have been made as part of an ad hoc rebalance to the wider WealthSelect MPS, which included the portfolio team choosing to lock in profits from its holding in the Quilter Investors Precious Metals Equity fund within the Managed range.

The proceeds will be reallocated into fixed income and liquid alternatives.

The Sustainable portfolios have also introduced a new holding in the form of the CT Sustainable Global Equity Income fund.

“We have had a number of conversations with the Van Berkom team, and we are really excited to be bringing an interesting and proven fund to our clients in the UK through this investment,” said Quilter WealthSelect MPS portfolio manager, Stuart Clark.

“The team is well-established and aligned closely to the success of the fund, so given the valuation opportunity in quality US small caps, this fund felt like an ideal addition to our US equity mix.

“We have also taken the opportunity to take advantage of gold’s outstanding run. Following a further 20 per cent rally since our last rebalance in only September, the recent sharp move higher presents a timely opportunity to crystallise some gains.

“Importantly, this adjustment still leaves the portfolios with meaningful exposure to gold equities, ensuring we remain well-positioned to benefit should the rally continue. Our active management of this position has historically added value for clients, and we remain ready to hunt out more opportunities here should we see a period of consolidation or renewed inflationary pressures alongside signs of economic softening.

“Finally, within the Sustainable portfolios, value exposure is a small and sometimes difficult subset of the universe to find. We hold stringent thresholds for inclusion in the portfolios and while this can prove time consuming, it is also highly rewarding when we find a suitable fund.

“The similarly high threshold that the CT team place on identifying companies that provide solutions to environmental and social challenges aligns nicely with the way we think about positioning our portfolios.”

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