Only 30 fund managers have managed to achieve the highly coveted FE Alpha Manager rating seven years in a row, since the rating was launched in 2009.

Over the last several years since the financial crisis in 2008, markets have seen increased volatility and macro-political events have seen many managers lose their conviction, which is why it is even more impressive that these managers were able to achieve consistently outstanding returns over this period.

Among the managers in FE’s Hall of Fame are veteran emerging markets managers Angus Tulloch and Martin Lau of First State Investments, Jupiter Unit Trust Managers’ triumvirate of Algy Smith-Maxwell, John Chatfeild-Roberts and Peter Lawery, who qualified at the time of rebalance but has since retired, and star UK equity income manager Neil Woodford, founding partner of Woodford Investment Management and manager of the CF Woodford Equity Income fund.

Other star managers to make the grade include M&G bond guru Richard Woolnough, Schroders’ Andy Brough and Jenny Jones and Mark Slater, manager of the MFM Slater Growth and MFM Slater Recovery funds. 

Europe has been an especially difficult region for active managers to outperform in light of the ongoing debt crisis. Uncertainty is back on the table after the European Central Bank’s (ECB) recent quantitative easing (QE) announcement and the election of Greece’s Syriza leftwing party last month, but managers like Threadneedle’s David Dudding and Philip Dicken, Neptune’s Rob Burnett and Henderson’s Richard Pease have all proven their ability to ignore the noise and withstand short term volatility.

Fund managers are judged according to their track records since 2000 with extra weighting for managers with the longest track records to highlight the benefits of experience.  The rating is based on three components: risk-adjusted alpha; consistency of outperformance versus their benchmark; and outperformance in both up and down markets.

Overall 182 fund managers were awarded an FE Alpha Manager Rating in the 2015 rebalance. 37 manager achieved the accolade for the first time this year and 10 women were named FE Alpha Managers.

Fidelity Investments overtook Henderson Global Investors in this year’s rankings, employing the most FE Alpha Managers with 11. Henderson Global Investors moved to second place with 10 and Schroders pipped Jupiter Unit Trust Management with eight FE Alpha Managers

Rob Gleeson, Head of Research at FE, commented: “The managers who are entering our hall of fame, the likes of Neil Woodford, Angus Tulloch and Mark Slater, are a real testament to the power of conviction. These are managers who have tried and tested strategies and don’t get swayed by short term events.”

“While their funds will have ups and downs, the fact that they have been consistently rated as the best managers in their fields for the last seven years since we launched the Alpha Manager rating goes to show the value of long term investing. The purpose of the Alpha Manager rating is to take a step back and remove short term market movements or cyclical factors from the analysis. It allows us to identify the managers who can add value over time.”

There is an ongoing debate between active and passive management, and given the outstanding performance of these star managers FE felt that it was important to highlight the unique contribution that active asset managers can make to the funds which have been entrusted to them.

This year we will be hosting our inaugural FE Alpha Manager of the Year awards which will recognize these achievements and the value their active styles bring to the industry.

All 2015-rated FE Alpha Managers will be eligible to win at least 1 of 15 awards to be handed out at the Shangri-la Hotel, The Shard on 12 March.