TM Tellworth UK Smaller Companies is one of four funds to hit a three-year track record and secure an Elite Rating from Fundcalibre.
Following Fundcalibre’s summer investment committee, three new funds have gained an Elite Rating, as have four previously ‘Radar’ funds that now have a three-year track record. Two further strategies have been awarded an Elite Radar badge.
Of the Tellworth strategy, Fundcalibre research director Juliet Schooling Latter explained: “Launched in 2018, this is a pure smaller companies fund run by two very experienced and highly regarded managers, Paul Marriage (pictured) and John Warren.
“Paul and John have an outstanding long-term track record and this fund is very similar to portfolios they have run before. They focus on smaller companies, avoiding micro caps and mid-cap stocks and meeting company management is integral to the investment process.”
It is joined on the promotion roster by T Rowe Price US Smaller Companies Equity, FSSA Global Emerging Markets Focus and Man GLG High Yield Opportunities.
A trio of longer-running funds also landed an Elite Rating: CT Global Focus, Cohen & Steers European Real Estate Securities and Cohen & Steers Diversified Real Assets.
Schooling Latter added: “CT Global Focus is a concentrated, high conviction portfolio of best ideas. Its manager, David Dudding, has always had a very clear philosophy and process which he has executed very successfully throughout his career. He invests in high quality, high return on capital businesses which can compound over the long term. This is a genuine global fund which will also venture into emerging markets.”
When it came to the two Cohen & Steers strategies, she said the firm “is the industry leader in real estate securities”.
The European real estate fund “has a tried and tested process allowing the well-resourced team to sift through the market and try to deliver consistent, above market returns led mostly by stock selection, as well as some sector and regional allocations. The result is a risk aware portfolio which can offer investors exposure to this diversifying asset class, knowing it is backed with a repeatable, sound process”.
Meanwhile, its diversified real assets strategy “is a relative newcomer to the UK market, it has the backing of Cohen & Steers’ depth and breadth of expertise. It offers investors a single destination for a range of inflation protecting assets, built with an eye on diversification, as well as returns. It should also offer investors a return profile very different to other funds out there. We believe this makes it a compelling choice, especially in tough inflationary environments”.
There were also two additions to the Elite Radar, which is effectively Fundcalibre’s watchlist.
The first is M&G Japan, a “multi-cap Japanese equity fund [that] has been run by Carl Vine since September 2019”, Schooling Latter explained. “Carl is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about the Japanese market, and really understands the businesses in which he invests. This is combined with a strong understanding of the Japanese culture, and a close eye on the risk/reward with each investment. The fund has a slight value bias and has outperformed so far under Carl’s tenure.”
The T Rowe Price Asian Opportunities Equity was moved to Elite Radar after management of the fund passed from Eric Moffett to Jihong Min. Schooling Latter said: “Jihong has a very similar philosophy of buying high quality companies run by high quality people and holding them for the long term. He has the backing of a strong analyst team on the ground, which is very beneficial. We are confident that Jihong can deliver good performance in the future and the fund is one we are watching closely.”
