23 October 2025
Quilter seeds new US small cap fund for WealthSelect Responsible portfolios
- Ad hoc rebalance sees WealthSelect Managed portfolios lock in gold profits
- CT Sustainable Global Equity Income fund added to WealthSelect’s Sustainable portfolios
Quilter has today announced it has seeded a new fund to be included in its Responsible portfolios in the WealthSelect Managed Portfolio Service.
The new fund, Van Berkom US Small Cap, invests in high-quality, well-managed small-cap companies at discounted valuations, and holds them for extended periods. Environmental, social and governance factors are deeply integrated throughout the fund’s research and decision-making process, positioning the fund ahead of small cap peers who have been slower to adopt robust ESG frameworks.
Van Berkom is a specialist investment manager based in Canada, and the fund is managed by a team of six led by lead portfolio manager Mathieu Sirois.
The addition comes soon after the launch of a new alternatives sub-advised mandate for the WealthSelect portfolios – the Quilter Investors Absolute Return Equity Fund, managed by Janus Henderson.
These changes have all been implemented as part of an ad hoc rebalance to the wider WealthSelect Managed Portfolio Service, which has assets of £23.3bn*. As part of this rebalance, the team (Stuart Clark, Helen Bradshaw and Bethan Dixon) has taken the decision to lock in profits from its holding in the Quilter Investors Precious Metals Equity fund within the Managed range following a strong run in the gold price.
The team had previously let this position run higher throughout the year as the price of gold climbed, but have decided to take profits following the strong returns to date. The proceeds will be reallocated into fixed income and liquid alternatives, enhancing portfolio diversification.
Finally, the Sustainable portfolios have also seen a new holding introduced in the form of the CT Sustainable Global Equity Income fund, bringing more value exposure to the portfolios.
Stuart Clark, portfolio manager of Quilter’s WealthSelect Managed Portfolio Service, said: “We have had a number of conversations with the Van Berkom team and we are really excited to be bringing an interesting and proven fund to our clients in the UK through this investment. The team is well-established and aligned closely to the success of the fund, so given the valuation opportunity in quality US small caps, this fund felt like an ideal addition to our US equity mix.
“We have also taken the opportunity to take advantage of gold’s outstanding run. Following a further 20% rally since our last rebalance in only September, the recent sharp move higher presents a timely opportunity to crystallise some gains. Importantly, this adjustment still leaves the portfolios with meaningful exposure to gold equities, ensuring we remain well-positioned to benefit should the rally continue. Our active management of this position has historically added value for clients, and we remain ready to hunt out more opportunities here should we see a period of consolidation or renewed inflationary pressures alongside signs of economic softening.
“Finally, within the Sustainable portfolios, value exposure is a small and sometimes difficult subset of the universe to find. We hold stringent thresholds for inclusion in the portfolios and while this can prove time consuming, it is also highly rewarding when we find a suitable fund. The similarly high threshold that the CT team place on identifying companies that provide solutions to environmental and social challenges aligns nicely with the way we think about positioning our portfolios.”
* WealthSelect AuM is £23.3bn as at 30th September 2025
