FundCalibre has awarded seven funds an ‘Elite’ rating, following its winter investment committee meeting.
Fixed income strategies Aegon High Yield Bond and BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Bond were among the funds to receive the rating, which recognises strategies the FundCalibre research team believes to be the best among their asset class peers.
FundCalibre research director Juliet Schooling Latter noted the £611m Aegon fund’s “excellent” track record in recent years, which has seen it placed among the top quartile of performers in the IA Sterling High Yield sector over one, three, and five years, according to FE Fundinfo data.
Elsewhere, Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust was also commended by Schooling Latter.
She said: “Launched in 2018, this trust invests in Indian companies of all sizes. The trust adopts a stock-picking approach to target scalable businesses with sustainable superior returns on capital. Aided by a huge bank of experienced research analysts, the trust has comfortably been the best performer in its sector since inception.
“We like the trust’s unique approach to stock selection and its ability to go deeper into both the mid and small-cap markets. A highly unconstrained vehicle, we also like its approach to ESG, specifically governance, which can be a critical issue in India.”
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Fidelity Asian Smaller Companies fund manager Nitin Bajaj was commended by FundCalibre for his clear philosophy and wealth of experience investing in the region.
“This is a genuine stockpicking fund with an emphasis on buying good businesses at prices discounted by the market. The fund has a contrarian ‘value’ bias and high active share. Risk is considered in absolute terms rather than relative to any benchmark or peer group,” Schooling Latter noted.
Comgest Growth America was commended for its “clear process” and “experienced management team”. The $990m strategy has achieved top quartile returns in the IA North America sector over one, three and five years.
Meanwhile, the £257m Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust was also highlighted for its long term performance.
“The trust’s manager, Zehrid Osmani, has proven himself to be an excellent manager of high conviction strategies. The highly-driven research approach has proven to be extremely successful over the longer term across a range of portfolios and we see no reason why this cannot continue on this trust,” Schooling Latter said.
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Ninety One Diversified Income, which launched in 2012, is designed to either replace or complement bonds in a portfolio. The majority of the fund is held in fixed income assets, while it also incorporates strategic equity positions.
“We also like the team’s use of future options and swaps to hedge equity, duration and credit risk,” the FundCalibre research director added.
Four funds were also handed the ‘Elite Radar’ badge, which is awarded to strategies that are on the research team’s shortlist and could receive an Elite rating in the future.
The strategies receiving the rating were Artemis Leading Consumer Brands, GQG Partners US Equity, Man GLG Dynamic Income, and Redwheel Biodiversity.
