Following its Autumn investment committee meeting, FundCalibre has awarded ten new Elite Ratings and three new Elite Radars.
The funds and trusts receiving the ratings range from US, UK, Asia and emerging market equities through to gold, infrastructure and mixed assets.
Commenting on the new ratings, Juliet Schooling Latter, research director at FundCalibre (pictured), said: “Our research meetings have continued apace over the Autumn and again proved fruitful. The past year has been a true test for many fund managers and their processes, and it is encouraging for investors that there are a number of extremely talented teams that continue to add value.”
The Elite Fund range can be found here.
Juliet writes a monthly exclusive column for Professional Paraplanner – Three-year track record – highlighting funds that are at or near three-years of performance.
Funds gaining Elite Ratings:
1. Baillie Gifford American
This fund is run by a team of four co-managers who focus on the small number of companies that create exceptional returns. These stocks will tap into the trends of the future, such as the continued rise of online retail, the evolution of transportation and innovative healthcare.
2. JPM Asia Growth
Using JP Morgan’s extensive emerging market and Asian analyst resource located across the globe, Hong Kong based managers Joanne Kwok and Mark Davids will invest in the shares of up to 60 companies of any size, primarily focusing on quality, growing businesses.
3. JPM Emerging Markets Trust
This investment trust seeks to uncover quality stocks, which are attractively valued, across emerging markets. It has been managed by Austin Forey for more than 20 years and he is ably supported by an extensive network of country and sector specialists from one of the largest and longest established emerging market teams in the industry.
4. Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth
A real alternative for investors in what is a hugely competitive global sector, this fund invests in the shares of a broad range of companies from around the world. The managers use a thematic approach to identify the key structural growth trends that will shape the global economy of the future across a portfolio of 40-60 stocks.
5. Liontrust Sustainable Future Managed
This mixed asset fund has a well-defined process which has emphatically proven sustainable companies have better growth and are more resilient than the market gives them credit for. Every investment has to meet four set criteria: thematic drivers, sustainable credentials, good fundamentals and attractive valuation.
6. M&G Global Listed Infrastructure
This fund looks for a balance of growth and income from three key areas of the sector: economic, social and ‘evolving’ infrastructure. This means investments can include anything from utilities and toll roads to health, education, data centres, payment companies and royalties. It has been run since launch by Alex Araujo.
7. Ninety One Global Gold
A highly experienced commodities expert, the manager of this fund believes that gold equities offer leverage to the gold price – so if you believe in gold you are better off owning gold equities. In addition, unlike physical gold, many gold miners pay a dividend and these pay-outs have been rising in recent years.
8. Schroder Income Growth Trust
This equity income investment trust invests mainly in the shares of UK larger and medium sized companies. It targets firms paying dividends that should grow faster than the rate of inflation and has raised its dividend each year for the past 25 years, making it a good option for income seekers.
9. T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity
Investing in large US firms that demonstrate innovation and change, this fund has an experienced manager who backs his best ideas with strong conviction. He also has the support of T. Rowe Price’s vast analyst resource, which offer the fund an edge even in this competitive, highly-analysed market.
10. Threadneedle Global Extended Alpha
This fund is a hidden gem in the global sector. It invests in high return on capital businesses experiencing sustainable structural growth and has a structure that allows the manager to both extend investors’ potential returns by buying stocks he expects to do well and also make money on stocks he expects to do badly (shorting).
Funds gaining Elite Radars:
1. Legg Mason IF Martin Currie US Unconstrained
Robbie McNab and Zehrid Osmani took on the management of this fund in 2019 and its investment approach has been radically altered. It is a very high conviction portfolio of just 20 to 25 holdings and the managers invest in large and mid-cap high quality growth companies typically benefiting from long term secular themes.
2. Ninety One Asia Pacific Franchise
This is a concentrated high conviction fund with more than half of its value in the top ten holdings. Most of these are larger companies. The managers typically ignore more cyclical and lower quality parts of the market such as energy, materials, telecoms and utilities.
3. T. Rowe Price US Smaller Companies Equity
The manager of this fund looks for both growth and value opportunities in the small and mid-cap space and will allow his winners to run as long as he still believes there is a return opportunity. He will also invest in areas such as biotech, which other generalist funds often avoid.
