AXA Framlington American Growth

Introduction to the fund

Following former manager Stephen Kelly’s departure, co-manager David Shaw took over as lead manager in January 2025, supported by deputy manager Gordon Happell. This fund has a strong growth bias and aims to invest in companies exhibiting genuine organic growth. It is mainly invested in large-caps but does have some mid-caps as well. About a third of the fund is currently invested in technology. The managers benefit from AXA’s strong resources in specialist areas such as technology, biotechnology and healthcare. This fund has performed well and has been helped by the extremely strong performance of US tech companies over the past few years. The fund does have a heavy style bias to growth and investors should be aware that the fund may underperform when this is not in favour.

Fund manager

David Shaw, Gordon Happell

David Shaw joined AXA Investment Managers in June 2016 as the Portfolio Manager of the AXA Framlington US Select Growth strategy and lead manager of the AXA Framlington American Growth fund. He was promoted to Co-Head of Global Equities in 2020 and currently manages the AXA Global Sustainable Distribution fund and co-manages the AXA Framlington Global Sustainable Managed fund. Prior to joining AXA IM, David was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Aerion Fund Management, where he spent 13 years co-managing a $1.5bn North American equity portfolio. Preceding that he spent 10 years as a UK fund manager and analyst, at Aerion Fund Management, NPI Asset Management and Natwest Investment Management. David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from City University, London. He is a member of CFA UK (ASIP) and has completed the London Business School Investment Management Programme.

Gordon Happell is a deputy manager of the AXA Framlington American Growth fund. He joined Columbia Threadneedle through the acquisition of BMO GAM (EMEA) in 2021, having previously been with BMO since 2014. Before joining the group, Gordon worked at Henderson Global Investors, specialising in Global Technology, and Aegon Asset Management where he was a Smaller Companies Investment Manager in the UK Equity team. Gordon has a first-class honours degree in Accounting from Strathclyde University and is a CFA charterholder.

Opinion on fund

The focus on strong growth allows the AXA Framlington American Growth fund to be able to benefit from exciting, less researched companies in the US market. The growth bias naturally leans towards this fund performing better when these stocks are in favour.

Fund performance

Documents

Key facts

  • Fund size

    £946.7m

  • Chelsea rating

    Buy

  • Core Selection

    No

  • Chelsea Risk Rating

    7

  • AMC

    0.75%

  • OCF

    0.81%

  • Unit Type

    Acc and Inc

  • Yield

    –

  • FundCalibre rating

    Elite Radar

How to invest

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Important information

Source: Performance data sourced from FE Analytics (IA universe). Yield figures (per annum), Fund Size data and AMCs/OCFs are as at 23/01/2026 unless otherwise stated.

The performance graph, factsheets and Key Investor Information Document is provided by FEfundinfo, and updated on a daily basis.

Some funds listed are off shore-domiciled and subject to different regulations. Off shore funds typically do not offer investor compensation under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Performance history extended by FE fundinfo to illustrate the fund’s longer-term record.

Sector rankings calculated from multiple underlying sectors; certain funds remain unranked due to limited comparability.

Funds assigned to an alternative IA sector; sector rankings may differ accordingly.

The information provided is based on our proprietary qualitative and quantitative research. Whilst reasonable efforts have been taken to ensure accuracy, Chelsea Financial Services cannot guarantee that the information is free from errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

This information does not constitute investment advice and should not be interpreted as a recommendation to invest in any fund listed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Please read the full Important Notice on page 2 of the FundReview 2025 carefully before making investment decisions.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, Chelsea Financial Services takes no responsibility for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies contained therein. The funds within the Chelsea Selection are based on our proprietary research, which is both qualitative and quantitative. Please note this is not investment advice, nor does it imply that you should invest in this fund. Past performance is a not a guide to future returns.

To find out more about our Chelsea Risk Rating, please visit our dedicated page.

The AMC (annual management charge) is paid to the fund management company for managing the fund. It is calculated as a percentage of the value of the fund. The AMC is less than the Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF).

The OCF (ongoing charges figure): The cost includes the AMC and other fees such as registration, regulatory, audit and legal fees but does not include transaction costs and performance fees.