Following its Spring investment committee meeting, FundCalibre has awarded one new Elite Rating and two new Elite Radar badges. A further fund moved from Elite Rated to Elite Radar following a manager change.
New Elite Rating
Launched in 2003, the Invesco Bond Income Plus Limited Trust aims to provide capital growth and high income by investing predominantly in high-yielding fixed income securities. Backed by the large fixed income resources at Invesco, this closed-ended vehicle is a strong consideration for investors wanting access to the high yield market through a portfolio well-diversified across countries and industries.
Commenting on the award of the new Elite Rating, Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said: “The team has demonstrated their ability to manage risk through diversification, while also paying a consistent level of dividend for a number of years.”
Funds joining the Elite Radar
The Elite Radar is a special badge for funds that may or may not have the minimum three-year track record to pass FundCalibre’s AlphaQuest quantitative screen, but are on the team’s watchlist and potential candidates for a full rating in the future.
New on the watchlist is WS Montanaro Global Select, an unconstrained quality growth strategy, which looks for the best of the best among small and mid-cap companies in developed markets.
“Although the style of this fund has been out of favour recently, manager George Cooke is highly experienced, with a track record of delivering strong returns investing in both small and mid-cap companies. With the fund in good hands, we believe this should see a performance turnaround,” said Darius.
The second fund joining the Elite Radar is Schroder Global Multi-Asset Cautious Portfolio, which aims to provide capital growth and income by investing in a diversified range of assets and markets worldwide. Tapping into the huge resources within the multi-asset division at Schroders, the fund adopts a fettered approach by using Schroders’ own fundamental and systemic active solutions, alongside some passive positions, to build a cost-efficient portfolio for investors, with charges capped at 0.22%.
Darius believes this should be a strong consideration for any investor looking for a cost-competitive active solution, with a strong focus on risk.
In addition, one fund moves from Rated to Radar. Matthews Pacific Tiger is a high-conviction, low-turnover portfolio with an emphasis on domestically or regionally oriented companies that stand to benefit from the long-term evolution and growth of the Asian consumer.
Following lead manager Sharaf Shroff’s departure from the fund in December 2023, the FundCalibre research team met with fellow lead manager Inbok Seng. Seng rejoined Matthews Asia in 2019 after previously working there from 2007 to 2015. In between, he gained experience at Seafarer Capital Partners.
“Due to the well-resourced specialist team at Matthews Asia, we are happy to move this fund to an Elite Radar,” Darius said.
