The Allianz Little Dragons, JP Morgan Emerging Markets Infrastructure Equity, Pioneer Funds US Mid Cap Value and UBS (Lux) Small Caps USA funds are all affected.
The Little Dragons fund, which previously had a Bronze rating, has been downgraded to Neutral due to its relatively high total expense ratio. Morningstar stated that the fund has not delivered the outperformance which should be reasonably expected given the expenses investors are charged.
Following a managerial change, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Infrastructure Equity fund has been downgraded to Neutral. While previous manager Richard Titherington is to continue as co-manager, and new manager Leon Eidelman has experience in the emerging markets infrastructure arena, his lack of track record on the fund has resulted in the decision to downgrade.
Changes at the helm of the Pioneer Funds US Mid Cap Value Fund are also being cited as motivation for its downgrade from Under Review to Neutral. Former manager Rod Wright recently left Pioneer and the fund is now under the stewardship of Ned Shadek, with Tim Horan as co-manager. The pair are looking to make changes to the current investment process, another reason for the downgrade.
The UBS (Lux) Small Caps USA Fund was placed under review following the announcement that Paul Graham will be taking on a new role as head of the UBS Growth Equity Strategies. Morningstar stated that Graham’s reduced role in the running of the fund will have a significant impact given the small size of the team.
