But when those managers start to fade, retire, leave the industry, or simply have too much money to run on a daily basis and are forced to soft close their funds, investors are left trying to uncover the next big name.

This can be a difficult thing to do in an industry made up of more than 2,000 funds, particularly for advisers that, following the RDR, are now concentrating more on the financial planning aspect of client relations rather than investment decisions.

So, Investment Adviser has devised a metric and highlighted the top 10 rising stars of the fund management industry.

The question is, are you invested with them?

Using data supplied by FE, the list was compiled using a simple metric. To be included, the manager must have been given a first name manager role within the past five years and must have a three-year track record.

Index funds and team approaches (including co-managers) have been filtered out of the list.

Then they must have proven themselves by outperforming the fund’s relative sector average in the past three rolling 12 month periods.

The results were then ranked based on a three-year cumulative return relative to the sector average to make the top 10.

The rising stars come from a number of high-profile investment houses such as Neptune, Old Mutual, Jupiter and F&C which house star performers such as Robin Geffen, Stuart Cowley and Philip Gibbs.

Stars

Based on the metric used, the brightest star among those that made the top 10 is Neptune’s Mark Martin.

He has managed the £68.1m Neptune UK Mid Cap fund since it launched in December 2008 and in the past three years has returned 95.75 per cent.

By comparison, the IMA UK All Companies sector rose just 36.71 per cent in the same period, according to FE Analytics.

This UK Mid Cap fund manager isn’t alone in the list of rising stars. Old Mutual’s Richard Watts is also highlighted as a manager that could serve his investors well in the long term. He was promoted to lead manager at the end of 2008, having been the deputy manager on the Old Mutual UK Mid Cap fund since 2006.

Other rising stars include Ariel Bazalel, manager of the Jupiter Strategic Bond fund.

Of course, there is no guarantee that these managers will shine as bright as the likes of Neil Woodford, but in such a crowded marketplace, they certainly show some sparkle.

Jenny Lowe is features editor at Investment Adviser

THE MANAGERS

NAME: Mark Martin

FUND: Neptune UK Mid Cap

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £68.1m

3-YEAR PERFORMANCE: 95.75 per cent (IMA UK All Companies sector: 36.71 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Martin takes both a qualitative and quantitative investment approach to stockpicking for the fund and recently said that rising merger and acquisitions activity is a key driver for the fund.

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NAME: Richard Watts

FUND: Old Mutual UK Mid Cap

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £970.4m

3-YEAR PERFORMANCE: 65.32 per cent (IMA UK All Companies sector 36.71 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Watts manages this fund using a combination of both top down and bottom up analysis. Up to 80 per cent of stocks in the fund are in the FTSE 250.

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NAME: Eugene Philalithis

FUND: Fidelity Multi Asset Open Strategic

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £108m

3-YEAR PERFORMANCE: 22.18 per cent (IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector: 18.85 per cent

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Philalithis employs both a quantitative and qualitative approach when it comes to investing for his fund.

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NAME: Roger Morley

FUND: MFS Meridian European Core Equity

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £10.9m

3-YEAR PERFORMANCE: 46.07 per cent (IMA Europe Including UK sector: 22.81 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Morley’s investment style fits into what is referred to as Garp - growth at a reasonable price. He analysis companies from the bottom up.

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NAME: Michael Ulrich

FUND: F&C UK Mid Cap

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £68.2m

3-YEAR PERFORMANCE: 76.45 per cent (IMA UK All Companies sector: 36.71 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Ulrich is a fundamental stockpicker, focusing on the competitive and financial strength of companies.

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NAME: Sandy Rattray

FUND: GLG Continental Europe

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £59.1m

3-YEAR PERFORMANCE: 37.38 per cent (IMA Europe Excluding UK sector: 25.26 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Rattray’s investment strategy is based on fundamental medium-term trade ideas derived from broker notes.

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NAME: James Ind

FUND: IM Russell Real Assets

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £64.8m

3-year performance: 21.78% (IMA Specialist sector 11.33%)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Ind is responsible for the structuring and management of multi asset and commodities portfolios. He also contributes to Russell’s research in commodities and other alternative asset classes.

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NAME: Tim Wilson

FUND: Newton Managed Income

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £88m

3 YEAR PERFORMANCE: 33.05 per cent (IMA Mixed Investment 20-60 per cent Shares sector: 19.75 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Wilson manages this fund in line with the Newton thematic view, the house style adopted by the stable of funds offered by the group.

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NAME: Ariel Bezalel

FUND: Jupiter Strategic Bond

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: £1.4bn

3 YEAR PERFORMANCE: 35.03 per cent (IMA Sterling Strategic Bond sector: 23.48 per cent)

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Mr Bezalel’s style is focused on macroeconomic analysis and fundamtental company research. He favours companies with robust business models and competent management teams.