The “wisdom of the crowd” might for some be a reassuring phenomenon that can be readily applied to mutual fund investing. There is some sense to this; most investors are not fund experts, so a large and popular fund (in the absence of any other information about it) has probably had its tyres kicked enough times to act as some type of warranty. Why do investors flock to the same funds? There are many reasons for a fund or a fund house to be popular. Brand recognition, the effectiveness of its sales team, and its fund range are key as

Recently in London, Investment Week hosted its “Funds to Watch” conference showcasing mutual funds containing assets of less than £300 million. Whilst strictly speaking not all the fund groups represented were boutique houses (a number of large fund groups were promoting some of their smaller, less well-known funds), there were a considerable number of new and innovative mutual fund offerings on display. Tough to differentiate The mutual fund industry in the U.K. is largely characterised by its homogeneity. Fund analysts, selectors, gatekeepers, and multi-managers are skilled and adept at highlighting the not-inconsiderable differences in style and factor biases, size, and