Agility + Acumen

We’re independent. We’re not owned by a bank. We’re not owned by an

insurance company. We've deliberately designed a nimble company to bring

to advisers and investors a straightforward series of funds managed by individuals

who we believe are masters of their craft.

A good fund manager, like any good craftsman is hard to find. Once found, City

Financial harnesses the proven skills of these individuals. Without legacy or

conflict of interests and without the distractions that a big company brings, the

managers are empowered to focus on creating something remarkable for our

investors and their advisers.

InterestingLeigh: The boy who cried wolf

Leigh Himsworth, head of UK equities at City Financial and manager of the CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund, provides commentary for May

The UK equity market continues its relentless rise, up another 0.63% in April giving a total return from June 2012 to the end of April this year of 28.5%! I recently re-read my fund commentary from six months ago where I expressed a degree of caution with the market having risen so strongly especially post Mario Draghi’s comments in June of last year. Well, six months further on, in expressing a cautious note, I find myself crying wolf again! Though I think now that I am beginning to slowly understand what has happened and how to play this.

  • Read the complete commentary here

City Financial to acquire OPM Fund Management

As part of the deal City Financial will take on OPM's fund range, worth some £75.2 million in assets. OPM fund manager Tony Yousefian will join City Financial as part of the deal alongside business development manager Richard Carswell. The acquisition will increase the firm's overall retail assets under management to £420 million.

City Financial appointed as manager of the OPM fund range

City Financial has been appointed by OPM Fund Management Limited as manager of its fund range, effective 1st April 2013. As part of this arrangement, City Financial will acquire OPM Fund Management Limited.

  • Read the complete press release here

City Financial's Graham Glass shares his views on higher beta credit

Graham Glass, manager of City Financial Strategic Global Bond Fund, recently shared his thoughts with FT Adviser regarding bonds being nearly fully valued.

  • Read the article here
  • Read more about the fund here

InterestingLeigh: Mr Muddle

Leigh Himsworth, head of UK equities at City Financial and manager of the CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund, provides commentary for March

The above title was originally intended to be directed at the UK coalition government who stated early on in their administration that they would rein in spending and let the Bank of England ease monetary policy to stimulate lending and so growth in the economy. Well, neither has worked. We have a contraction in lending and little, if any, slimming of government. Recently though I have found myself included in the title (many readers may say I’ve been that way for years) as I refocus my attention on equity markets that continue to scale new heights.

  • Read the complete commentary here

Graham Glass joins City Financial as head of fixed income

City Financial has appointed Graham Glass as head of fixed income, with effect from 1 March 2013. Graham has been the lead manager of City Financial’s £52m City Financial Strategic Global Bond Fund since its re-launch in January 2012. He will continue to manage the fund in his new role as part of City Financial’s in-house investment team, and lead the development of the firm’s fixed income capability and products.

InterestingLeigh: To boldly go where no one has gone before

Leigh Himsworth, head of UK equities at City Financial and manager of the CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund, provides commentary for February

Imagine how happy I was recently to discover that I shared a birthday with none other than William Shatner – Captain James T Kirk! Those of a certain age will undoubtedly share my joy, others who may be much younger and, unmoved by this, just read on...

  • Read the complete commentary here

City Financial’s Leigh Himsworth has been awarded a FE Alpha Manager rating in recognition of consistent outperformance

Only the top 10% of managers, those who have outperformed their peers consistently over their careers as measured as far back as January 2000, are awarded an FE Alpha Manager rating.

Hargreaves Lansdown monitoring City Financial fund managed by Leigh Himsworth for potential inclusion on their Wealth 150 list

Hargreaves Lansdown has stated this week that it is closely monitoring Leigh Himsworth’s CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund for potential inclusion on their Wealth 150 list.

City Financial’s Mark Harris considers the signs pointing towards a brighter economy

Mark Harris, Head of multi-asset at City Financial, provides insight on a range of economic issues: how promising economic data is providing a boost for several sectors, his reaction to encouraging Chinese economic data and how the Fed’s intervention and strong employment figures are painting a sunnier picture for the US.

  • Read Mark's latest commentary here

Mark Harris appointed manager of City Financial’s multi-asset funds

Mark Harris has been appointed as manager of City Financial’s multi-asset funds with effect from 31 December 2012. Mark will manage four funds with the aim of delivering optimal risk adjusted returns for clients across a wide range of assets: City Financial MultiManager Growth, City Financial MultiManager Income, City Financial Diversified and City Financial Dynamic.

  • Read the complete press release here

City Financial fund managed by Leigh Himsworth chosen as one of FE Trustnet’s fund picks for 2013

Leigh Himsworth’s CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund is among those FE Trustnet’s editorial team has tipped to have a strong year.

  • Read the article here
  • Read more about the fund here

City Financial's Leigh Himsworth calls for policy rethink

Leigh Himsworth, manager of City Financial’s CF Eden UK Select Opportunities Fund, recently shared his thoughts with FT Adviser regarding current economic policy in the UK and its effects on businesses and the UK equity market.

  • Read the article here
  • Read more about the fund here

City Financial and PCE Investors complete transfer

City Financial has completed the transfer of investment management responsibilities for funds and related managed accounts managed by Cumulus Asset Management LLP, PBG Capital Limited, and Wiltshire Capital Limited, in a transaction that continues the development of the Company’s offshore specialist fund range.

  • Read the complete press release here

City Financial attracts top investment team

City Financial is delighted to announce the hiring of Ed Rosengarten and four of his colleagues, Leigh Himsworth, Mark Harris, Thomas Leah and Kevin Mordrick, from Eden Financial, to drive the development of its in-house asset management capability.

  • Read the complete press release here

City Financial appoints David Crawford

City Financial, the London-based investment firm, has appointed David Crawford as its first in-house investment manager with responsibility for the City Financial UK Equity Fund. David, who brings his UK Equity Fund with him from Octopus Investments, has taken up his appointment with effect from September 1st.

  • Read the complete press release here

BarclayHedge awards City Financial Asian Absolute Growth Fund top 10 ranking in Fund of Funds – Emerging Markets Sector

The City Financial Asian Absolute Growth Fund is ranked #7 in the Fund of Funds – Emerging Markets sector by BarclayHedge, in recognition of its category-leading performance. This rank is based upon net return and uses data from BarclayHedge’s database.

  • Read the complete post here

Why we gave Facebook a pass

Andrew Williams, chief executive of City Financial, along with Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, discuss the recent flotation of social networking giant Facebook with Channel 4 News. Andrew explains why City Financial’s disciplined investment strategy didn’t see value in Facebook shares at their original flotation value of $38.

  • View the Channel 4 News video here

City Financial is delighted to announce two key appointments to its board

Professor David R. Beatty and Mr Michael Stein have joined City Financial as non-executive directors. Both David and Michael have extensive experience working with large, multi-national corporations and helping to build and organically develop businesses. Their appointments represent a significant step in the continued growth and expansion of City Financial.

  • Read our press release here.

City Financial's Graham Glass explains where value can be found in fixed income markets

With many government bond yields currently trading at all time lows and credit markets pricing in an economic downturn of greater proportions than we have seen in 100 years, Graham Glass, lead manager of the newly re-launched City Financial Strategic Global Bond Fund, recently shared his thoughts with Investment Week.

City Financial re-launches Strategic Global Bond Fund

City Financial, the London-based investment firm, has re-launched its Strategic Global Bond Fund to capitalise on the growing investment opportunities in global credit. The fund, which previously invested only in sovereign debt, will now also provide exposure to corporate bonds at the hand of new Lead Manager, Graham Glass.

City Financial's Asian Absolute Growth manager on CNBC

Aoifinn Devitt, portfolio manager for City Financial's Asian Absolute Growth Fund, joined CNBC for a look back at Europe's trading day and Asian markets, 7 September 2011.

Fidelity adds City Financial Strategic Gilt Fund to Select List

Fidelity, one of the UK’s largest asset managers, has added the City Financial Strategic Gilt Fund to its recommended select list. This is a fund panel across 14 core sectors which have been selected using Fidelity's Manager Selection Team within the Investment Solutions Group. Fidelity places the City Financial Strategic Gilt Fund alongside funds from PIMCO, GLG, Artemis, and Invesco Perpetual in the fixed income sector. “We are delighted to be included in this new initiative by Fidelity and have seen considerable interest from financial advisers and discrectionary managers since the launch of the fund in 2006," says Andrew Williams, CEO at City Financial.

Ian Williams: why the Fed and BoE are both wrong on inflation

As the Western G7 nations have de-industrialised, the bulk of global manufacturing has switched to South East Asia, particularly China. When this first occurred the effect was that the West experienced imported deflation across a whole range of consumer goods as Chinese products were much cheaper than the Western products they replaced. The problem now is that China is suffering rapid ongoing rates of inflation and as they produce 90% imported consumer goods of the Western economies, China’s inflation is now our inflation.

Capturing Asian growth

In her ft.com guest commentary, Aoifinn Devitt, manager of the City Financial Asian Absolute Growth Fund, describes the important forces that are shaping the Asian market and how investors can capture a share of future growth in the region. The story of growth in Asia is not a new one, but much of the low hanging fruit has already been picked and the messy realities of that growth are now roiling investor sentiment. However, this early energy has opened up a new, more complex chapter, where the plot lines are becoming more fragmented and scattered. Profiting from this next phase will require a more inclusive approach towards the older generation of markets as well as a more sophisticated set of techniques to add value — or “deliver alpha” — beyond the traditional “buy and hold” approach that worked so well in the past.