Donald Brown, investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said:

Mr Steer has several holdings in his portfolio, so at first sight it looks very diversified. But the underlying mix is less appealing: more than two fifths of his portfolio is in just four funds. 

This means his returns are heavily skewed towards his largest commitments, while his other investments have much less of an impact on his money.

Mr Steer should look beneath the bonnet to find out what each of the funds invests in. The technology giant Microsoft is among the largest holdings in several of his selections, including Rathbone Global Opportunities and Fundsmith Equity.

I would increase allocation to the funds that already offer him meaningful diversification, such as BB Healthcare Trust, and reduce some of the generalist funds with overlapping holdings, such as the Bankers and City of London investment trusts.

Compared with Mr Steer’s holdings in funds and trusts, his current spread of direct stocks is very limited, which means that they do not have much hope in moving the performance needle of the portfolio.