Fund research house RSMR has announced the winners of the ‘R Awards’ for 2024, which recognises the funds and fund houses it believes are among the best-in-class in their relevant peer group.
The awards have been handed out on an annual basis for the last 10 years.
“We’re delighted, in RSMR’s 20th year, to recognise what we consider to be the leaders in 2024 among the many excellent funds that we research and rate,” RSMR CEO Ken Rayner said.
M&G was crowned as ‘best asset manager’ by RSMR, while the fund house’s Japan fund was rated the best equity fund focused on the region.
Equity awards
BNY Mellon Global Equity won the award for best global equity fund. RSMR said the strategy’s investment process is well defined and offers investors access to a high-quality portfolio of globally listed stocks.
In terms of equity income, Royal London UK Equity Income won the award for the best UK-focused fund, while Jupiter Asian Income was commended as the best international equity income strategy.
On the RLAM UK Equity Income fund, RSMR analysts said the management team is not afraid to zero weight a stock or sector if necessary and will at times have a contrarian outlook on certain stocks and sectors.
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Invesco UK Enhanced Index was recognised as RSMR’s best UK Equity fund. The strategy combines value, quality and momentum factors into an index type fund which aims to replicate the risk of the underlying benchmark but with an incrementally better performance. “The team is experienced and employs an analyst team to hone and refine the factors involved in building the fund,” analysts said.
Brown Advisory US Sustainable Growth was recognised as RSMR’s best North American fund. A UCITS version of the fund launched in 2019, though the underlying strategy has been run since 2009.
RSMR analysts added: “The fund provides options for investors who wish to allocate specifically to North America with some form of sustainability bias/screening in place as well as a core US equity exposure holding within portfolios,” RSMR said.
Jupiter Merian Asia Pacific came out on top in the Asian equity fund category, while Liontrust European Dynamic won out in continental Europe.
Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets Equity was rated the best EM equity fund, while EdenTree R&S European Equity was recognised in the responsible fund category.
Fixed income and alternatives
In terms of fixed income, the best multi-national bond fund was awarded to TwentyFour Monument Bond.
“Twenty Four are used by a number of institutions including the Bank of England and have, since launch, proven to be very competent in fixed interest management. This fund has shown that it can deliver returns in a falling rate environment. There have been some small changes to the process over time, but this has shown that they are capable of adapting to the environment without increasing risk.
“The Monument Bond fund is lower risk than a corporate or strategic bond alternative, but its risk/return profile reflects this, being half of the risk budget of the IA Corporate Bond sector.”
In the sterling bond sector, Aegon High Yield Bond was highlighted by RSMR for the team’s stock selection through “very difficult macro environments”.
Meanwhile, Fulcrum Diversified Core Absolute Return was named as the best-in-class fund for the alternatives sector. According to RSMR, the fund offers investors a genuinely uncorrelated global macro strategy at a relatively low cost, as unlike most hedge funds there is no performance fee.
“The focus is on macro driven, absolute return strategies with a top-down orientated investment process. The low correlation to traditional assets makes the fund an excellent diversifier within portfolios.”
Best multi-asset range
Columbia Threadneedle’s Universal MAP funds range was recognised as the best multi asset range.
“The CT Universal MAP funds are a strong option for advisers/investors looking for a range of risk managed solution,” RSMR analysts said of the fund. “The multi asset team is a well-resourced specialist multi-asset business, with the backing of a multinational business with offices in North America and across the globe.
“Although the fund range is relatively new, the investment team have been at the company for a number of years and are very experienced in running significant sums of money. The main investment team members are experienced investors with the backing of a well-resourced multi asset team.
“The investment process is structured but pragmatic, allowing the managers to reduce risk on a tactical basis if deemed appropriate.”
| Category | Winner |
| Best Multi Asset Range | CT Universal MAP Funds |
| Best UK Equity Income Fund | Royal London UK Equity Income |
| Best UK Equity Fund | Invesco UK Enhanced Index |
| Best North American Equity Fund | Brown Advisory US Sustainable Growth |
| Best Asian Equity Fund | Jupiter Merian Asia Pacific |
| Best Global Equity Fund | BNY Mellon Global Equity |
| Best Continental European Equity Fund | Liontrust European Dynamic |
| Best Multi-National Bond Fund | TwentyFour Monument Bond |
| Best Asset Manager | M&G |
| Best Responsible Fund | EdenTree R&S European Equity |
| Best Alternatives Fund | Fulcrum Diversified Core Absolute Return |
| Best Japanese Equity Fund | M&G Japan |
| Best International Equity Income Fund | Jupiter Asian Income |
| Best EM Equity Fund | Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets Equity |
| Best Sterling Bond | Aegon High Yield Bond |
