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City writer Ken Clay meets the investment fund manager whose healthcare contacts keep his finger on the pulse of the worldwide market
Aclassical scholar and top-flight bridge player may not seem the obvious first choice to run a #70 million investment fund specialising in biotechnology, medical devices and medical services companies. But Antony Milford is one of the most respected players in this game. Perhaps he was destined for this role since the first company he analysed on joining a City stockbroker in 1967 was Glaxo. He recommended it.
For ten years or so he has been running the Framlington Health Fund, a unit trust which has frequently featured among the top performers in the monthly Ethical Unit Trust Guide produced by CIS Unit Managers. It has lagged in the past year - 17 out of 18 in the February table - but on a five year count it is number two with a 74.7 per cent increase against the average of 39.1.
Figures for the past year would surely have been a good deal better if he had included Glaxo - now Glaxo Wellcome - in his portfolio as big companies have been outperforming the smaller ones in which Mr Milford chooses to invest. Specialisation inevitably makes the fund a more than average risk, if only because investment sectors can go in and...