Fidelity Special Values (ticker: FSV) was launched in 1994 as a closed-ended version of the highly successful Fidelity Special Situations fund, which had been managed by Anthony Bolton since it was set up in 1979. Bolton ran FSV until the end of 2007, returning almost 14% a year for over 13 years and massively outperforming the UK market. Sanjeev Shah ran the trust from 2008 to 2012 before stepping down, at which point Alex Wright took over as lead manager. FSV broadly matched the UK market under Shah, but has outperformed significantly once again under Wright. From 1994 to March 2025, FSV pro...
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UPDATE (Oct 2026): FEML returned +92.3% in the year to June 2026 versus +48.2% for its benchmark. This followed a return of +11.8% versus +6.3% in the year to June 2025. The trust beat its benchmark by +83% versus +56% over the five years to September 2026, so it did not hold its 25% conditional tender offer. Another 25% conditional tender offer has been put in place for the five years to September 2031. In September 2025, FEML agreed to repurchase the 25.7% stake held by Strathclyde Pension Fund. Along with its ongoing buyback programme, this reduced its share count from 64.3m to 39.4m over t...
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Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) was launched in 2010 and managed by Anthony Bolton for its first four years. Bolton beat his benchmark over his time in charge, largely thanks to a rally in his final year, before handing over to Dale Nicholls in April 2014. Under Nicholls, FCSS has generated an annualised NAV return of 8.4%, well ahead of the rather anaemic 4.1% a year produced by MSCI China. Like many Fidelity trusts, FCSS uses products such as CFDs to gear up its portfolio, typically to around 20% and also employs market hedges to try and dampen volatility. Its portfolio has a bias b...
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UPDATE (Oct 2026): In the year to July 2024, FAS returned +3.2% versus +13.7% for its benchmark, followed by +12.4% versus +7.1% to July 2025, and +10.9% versus +8.9% in the six months to January 2026. The trust celebrated its 30th birthday in June 2026, saying that each £1 invested at launch, with dividends reinvested to 30 June 2026, would be worth £8.05.
Fidelity Asian Values (ticker: FAS) was launched in 1996, not long before the Asian Financial Crisis, so its first few years proved difficult but over time it has built up a solid performance record. Nitin Bajaj took over as lead manager i...
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UPDATE: This trust took over Henderson European in September 2025, and it now has total assets of around £2.5bn and a market cap of around £2bn. Its NAV total return was +18% for 2023, +1% for 2024, +16% for 2025, and +6% in the first half of 2026, lagging the European market over the past couple of years. Sam Morse is due to retire in October 2027. Alexander Laing will join in November 2026 to work alongside Morse’s co-manager, Marcel Stötzel, to ensure a smooth transition.
Fidelity European Trust (ticker: FEV) was launched in 1991 and was managed by Anthony Bolton for its first decade. It's...
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UPDATE: A revised version of this profile was published in July 2025.
Fidelity Special Values has a great record of outperforming the UK market since it was launched in 1994, thanks to its value/contrarian discipline, a modest level of gearing, and its recent preference for small- and mid-caps. It also tends to invest around 15-20% of its assets outside the UK. Its popularity with retail investors means its shares have frequently traded at a small premium over the last four years. This trust was famously run by Anthony Bolton from November 1994 to December 2007 and by Sanjeev Shah from Januar...
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UPDATE: A revised version of this profile was published in June 2025.
On 2 July 2021, the board of Genesis Emerging Markets (GSS), the third-largest emerging markets trust valued at £1.1bn, surprised many people with the news that it planned to appoint the well-regarded emerging markets team at Fidelity International as its new manager. Here we look at what's being proposed and just how much emerging-market investing has changed over the last three decades.
Many investors have probably never heard of Genesis Emerging Markets and that's a big factor behind its board's decision to switch the t...
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