Gartmore Smaller Cos sees NAV fall by 11.4%

The £55m Gartmore Smaller Companies, which lost its manager two weeks ago when Frank Manduca quit Gartmore, has significantly underperformed its benchmark, according to the fund's interim results. In the six months to 28 February, NAV per share fell by 11.4% to 379.4p. That compares with a fall of 4.8% in the FTSE Small Cap Ex-Investment trusts Index. The board announced an interim dividend of 1p per share. The fund is now being managed by Gartmore's UK smaller companies team but has no named manager.