Maneks Fund Good Medicine For Uk Investors

He is the pharmacist with the Midas touch who shot to fame by making imaginary millions in a newspaper-run stock market competition. But now the game is for real, and Jayesh Manek has a bulging war chest of 73 million sterling to play with the bulls and the bears in the UK stock market.

Two months after the Manek Growth Fund was launched, the money is still pouring in. In addition to the 73 million sterling in the kitty, 1 million is arriving by cheque each week. It may be a record for a new start-up fund, said one analyst.

 

Even Manek in his wildest dreams had not expected such an amazing response. He launched the fund in November hoping for around 30 million to 50 million sterling . We hadnt anticipated anything on this scale, said a close advisor.

It is one more extraordinary chapter for the suburban chemist who catapulted into the limelight by making millions on paper and winning the Sunday Times stockmarket competition two years running. Manek has been inundated by the overwhelming response that began after a laudatory article in the Financial Times. In the first three days itself, more than 10,000 would-be investors reached for their phones and got out their chequebooks. Our switchboards were jammed, said Manek.

Among those pinning their faith on Maneks stockpicking skills are thousands of Ugandan Indians and Gujaratis. Insiders say the new funds register has several pages of Shahs and Patels who feel their money will be safe with one of their own.

Inevitably, Manek is now making the transition from suburban pharmacist to star fund manager courted by the biggest and best money managers in London. He will soon move from cramped offices above the familys chemist shop in Ruislip on the outskirts of London. The hunt is on for a fancy office suite in the heartland of Londons financial district.

The overwhelming investors response has also forced Manek to step up his recruitment drive and hire a bigger team than originally intended. Maneks brother Hasu, who will head the funds administrative wing, is working round-the-clock to hurriedly put people in place. Another brother Deepak is also likely to help out and work on the fund.

Manek himself started out with strong backers including investment guru Sir John Templeton who has put 13 million into the fund. Initially, Templeton gave Manek 5 million sterling to manage. However, after Manek turned it into 8 million sterling Templeton decided to trust him with another 5 million sterling .

Other heavyweight backers include Stanislas Yassukovich, Manek Investment Managements chairman, was until recently chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe. Also on the MIM board is Crispin Money-Counts, of Coutts Bank.

The overwhelming investor response may force Manek to change course slightly. In the past he has always concentrated on the small-cap sector where the rewards and risks are both high. But with his cash bonanza he will spread bets between giant corporations and the guerrilla warriors of the small-cap sector.

Manek already runs Invil which invests mainly in the small cap sector in India. The fund has not been a big winner but it has certainly outperformed the weak small cap sector in India. Manek is now attempting to spread his bets more evenly and will be looking at bigger companies. Amongst his hot favourites at the moment are small-cap companies like Crisil. Also, he is looking closely at companies like Cadburys.

Maneks fortunes have soared since he won the Sunday Times competition two years running. For a start he made nearly 250,000 from the competition, beating thousands of stock market professionals in the process. Soon after, the calls began to come in. He received a flood of offers to manage funds. Said Manek: I was convinced that I could not work within their framework.

In the first Sunday Times Fantasy Fund competition, Manek multiplied an imaginary 10 million into an astonishing 502 million (on paper). That cant really happen in the real world but Maneks fans and investors will still be hoping for rich enough returns.