Square Mile has removed the ‘A’ rating given to the Jupiter Global Value Equity fund following the departure of managers Ben Whitmore and Dermot Murphy.
The rating was initially suspended in January 2024 on the announcement of the managers’ exit.
Jupiter had initially announced it was considering whether to allow Whitmore and Murphy to continue to run the fund on a sub-advised basis once their new boutique Brickwood Asset Management is launched.
Last month, however, the firm confirmed Brian McCormick and Alex Savvides as managers of the fund moving forward.
“While the analysts acknowledge that the appointment of Brian McCormick as the fund’s lead manager represents some continuity of approach and ensures that the mandate remains internally managed by Jupiter, the fund’s A rating was predicated on the expertise of Mr Whitmore and Mr Murphy,” Square Mile analysts said.
Elsewhere, Square Mile analysts said they were “disappointed” to remove the ‘Responsible Positive Prospect’ ratings on the M&G Sustainable Multi Asset Cautious, Balanced and Growth funds.
M&G has proposed a merger of the range into some of its non-sustainable strategies, after stating the funds haven’t attracted sufficient investor interest to be commercially viable.
New ratings and upgrades
The Schroder Global Sustainable Value fund was awarded a ‘Responsible A’ rating in the latest Square Mile update for October.
Analysts called the fund’s sustainable value approach a “key differentiator”, as the sustainable investment universe is heavily biased towards growth stocks. The fund provides style diversification by looking for value companies that are better positioned from a sustainability perspective when compared to industry peers.
The Diverse Income Trust has also entered Square Mile’s Academy of Funds for the first time, receiving an ‘A’ rating, with the analysts rating it an option for those looking to diversify their sources of income from UK equities.
JPM Europe Equity Absolute Alpha fund has also been awarded an A rating. “Its returns are lowly correlated to stock market indices and the fund has an impressive record of protecting investors’ capital in stock market downturns, when it matters most,” Square Mile said.
“This is mainly because the fund always has very low net market exposure. Instead, the dominant driver of returns is stock selection and the fund has an excellent record of generating alpha from both long and short investments.”
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Three Fidelity funds have received an upgrade on their current rating, with the Fidelity UK Smaller Companies fund boosted from an A to AA rating and Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend and Fidelity Enhanced Income funds upgraded to A ratings.
Meanwhile, CT Managed Equity & Bond, CT Managed Equity Focused and CT Managed Equity funds have kept their ratings despite the announcement that manager Alex Lyle is set to retire in April 2025.
Analysts said the funds retained their ratings as they follow a team-based approach to management and will continue the same investment approach.
Mirabaud Sustainable Global Dividend fund will also keep its ‘Positive Prospect’ rating following the departure of co-manager Anu Narula.
Square Mile said that while Narula’s exit was a “disappointing development” for the fund, they view co-manager Paul Middleton as one of the “original architects” of the fund’s process.
