Whittaker raises yield on UK fund

Stephen Whittaker has raised the yield on the New Star UK Growth portfolio by a third since taking over from previous manager Alan Miller in July. The 3% yield has risen to 4% at a time when Whittaker has built up mid-cap exposure, cut the underlying P/E of the portfolio, and increased the number of holdings from below 70 to nearer 90. As part of the changes, oil stocks have been removed from the £170m fund while media stocks have been thinned out. At the same time he has increased exposure to banks, which he believes look cheap after recent market weakness. Fundamentally, Whittaker b...