Caution is the watchword for Stuart Webster, head of global property at New Star Asset Management. With the credit crunch continuing to impact investment markets, as manager of the £653.5m (€826m, $1.3bn) New Star International Property fund, maintaining high liquidity levels and targeting resilient markets have been key parts of his strategy to defend the fund’s performance.

According to Morningstar, it is a strategy that has proved relatively successful – even in the face of particularly inclement conditions in the western property markets. Its figures reveal the fund has increased by 4.43 per cent since its June launch last year to June 23 2008. By comparison, the average fund in the IMA Specialist sector – although given its varied make-up it is perhaps not the best comparator – has dropped by 4.36 per cent. More pertinently, its direct peers have been hit hard by investor sentiment turning against property funds.