Star fund boss pumps cash into oil

STAR fund manager Anthony Bolton has sunk a vast swathe of a £216 million investment trust into oil stocks.

Bolton, dubbed the Quiet Assassin for his role in toppling ITV chairman-elect Michael Green last year, is one of the City's most respected stockpickers. He has invested nearly 4% of the Fidelity Special Values fund into energy giant BP, making it his largest holding, and another 2% into Shell.

A further 2%, equating to nearly £4.5 million, has been ploughed into exploration and drilling firm Cairn Energy, one of the stock market's best performers in recent weeks.

Terrorist fears and a supply shortage sent crude oil soaring to more than $40 a barrel. The rally has boosted the shares of oil producers and explorers.

Even troubled Anglo-Dutch group Shell, under fire for overestimating reserves, has seen its shares rally by 11% to 394 3/4p in the past two months. Spurred by discoveries in India, Cairn Energy has leapt from 380p in January to 1100p last week.

Bolton bought the stocks in the past three months.

A fund analyst at Fidelity said exposure to energy stocks was not a play on rising oil prices but was 'stock specific'. She highlighted BP's expansion in Russia.

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