Hibernian has Harley Davidson, among others, to thank for the gains that propelled its fund forward in the Rehab Great Investment Race last month.
For the eighth month in a row, Hibernian remained in the ascendant with a fund valued at €178,029, according to race monitors Mercer. This is well ahead of the second-placed contender, Bank of Ireland Asset Management, which finished November with a fund worth €117,935.
The race pits six investment managers, each with a fund of €100,000, against each other and the market over the course of the year. All money made goes to Rehab.
Hibernian, which now has its sights set on doubling its money by the end of the race, notched up a gain of 5.6 per cent in November after putting its money into its Target 20 fund of favourite stocks.
The fund includes shares such as motorbike manufacturer Harley Davidson, which gained 10 per cent over the course of the month, Ryanair, Riverdeep, Vodafone and China Unicom.
However, Hibernian also suffered a hiccup over the course of the month with the surprise resignation of its high-profile chief investment officer, Mr Pramit Ghose.
The firm says this shouldn't affect its performance in the race, however, as the company's new chief investment officer, Mr Martin Nolan, will have responsibility for the fund.
"He has always been involved in this and he will continue to be involved," Hibernian said.
Friends First also had a good month as its fund clambered back into the black. It joined Hibernian and Bank of Ireland Asset Management in having a fund worth more than the €100,000 it started out with last April. It notched up a gain of 4.4 per cent over the course of the month to leave it with a fund value of €103,138, in third place overall.
The top gainers in November, a good month generally for stock markets, were those funds with direct exposure to international equities.
Irish Life benefited from its chosen strategy of investing directly in shares around the globe. Fund manager Mr Seamus Magner realised a gain of 8.9 per cent from investments in international equities such as EasyJet, Munich Re and British mobile company MMO
Setanta also performed strongly over the course of the month, returning 8.6 per cent from its investment in a fund of 15 leading international equities such as China Mobile, IBM and Aventis.
Pioneer gained 2 per cent over the course of the month as it moved its money out of cash and bonds and back into European and global equities.
Overall, the €600,000 that the race participants started out with is now worth €680,000 and there are still four months to go.
jmosullivan@irish-times.ie
