Multibillion-dollar funds are well known by the investment community. Smaller players, on the other hand, may end up under the radar. Nevertheless, managers running funds with less than $100m continue to rise up the Citywire rankings.

Here, Citywire Amplify zooms in on five equity managers across Europe, the USA and Asia.

Eyes on Japan

Michele Malingamba, the manager of the New Capital Japan Equity fund ($87m AUM), has been AAA-rated since November 2021. He started his career as a portfolio manager in 1996 when he joined BSI and has been doing it ever since, including during EFG International’s purchase of BSI in 2017.

In 2018, Malingamba started running the New Capital Japan Equity fund. It has returned 34.2% over the past three years, in the Equity – Japan sector, putting Malingamba 14th of 158 qualifying managers in the sector. The fund invests in companies such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (3.71%), Oriental Land Co. (3.60%), and Tokio Marine Holdings (3.54%). It is available primarily in EU countries, including France, Germany, and Italy.

At the top of Italy

We also highlight Luca Mori, the portfolio manager of the Algebris Core Italy fund, with $97m in assets. In 2017, Mori (pictured) joined Algebris after working at Zenit as its chief investment officer and at Capitalia Asset Management and Fondicri as an equity fund manager.

Mori’s expertise is in Italy’s equity market, and it shows. He is the top-rated manager in the Equity – Italy sector over the past three years, with a return of 36.3%. The fund’s top holdings are Prysmian (2.80%), Anima (2.70%), and Mediobanca (2.70%). It is currently available in five countries, including the UK.

US exclusive

Moving across the Atlantic to the US, we have Catherine Somhegyi Nicholas and John Wylie, the managers of the Nicholas Partners Small Cap Growth Fund, which has $86.8m in assets under management. The fund achieved three-year returns of 45.2%, earning both AAA ratings since February 2022.

Somhegyi Nicholas and Wylie rank 33rd of 781 qualifying managers in the Equity – US Small & Medium Companies sector. The fund, only available in the US, has its top investments in WillScot Mobile Mini (4.42%), Bill.com (3.54%), and CACI International (3.39%).

Somhegyi Nicholas co-founded Nicholas Investment Partners, of which she is the chief investment officer, in 2006. Before that, she was the global CIO of Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management, where she began her career in 1987.

Wylie joined the firm shortly after its inception in November 2007. Before this, he co-founded CapitalWorks Investment Partners after leaving Nicholas-Applegate Securities Mutual Funds in 1998.

Beating the benchmark

Finishing up our tour across the globe, we find Hock-Fai Chan. He is currently running the Manulife Singapore Equity fund, which has $6.38m in assets. Before joining Manulife, in January 2018, he was the director of investment at Amundi.

Although the fund, which is available exclusively in Singapore, has a negative three-year return, it has been outperforming its benchmark in this period, earning him an AAA rating since April 2022. The fund’s top positions are DBS (19.38%), Oversea-Chinese Banking (15.75%) and United Overseas Bank (11.24%).