on the way up

New Star European Growth Richard Pease has probably endured his most difficult time as manager of the New Star European Growth fund in the past year. Ranking 28 out of 100 companies is almost top-quartile performance but for a fund that has a pedigree for top-decile performance, it has underperformed. "Traditionally a stunning performer the fund has been dominated by the commodity sector in the past year or so. Most managers went into Eastern Europe to target returns, but Pease stayed away. As a result he has not gained the returns that some have from telecoms and Russian oil companies," ...