What is the solution to constructing the perfect equity portfolio? Invest across a number of small funds with different specialisms, with high conviction and active share, says Willis Towers Watson (WTW).
BMO Global Asset Management has unveiled a line of low-cost multi-asset portfolios (MAP), with an ongoing charges figure (OCF) capped at 29 basis points.
If fund managers seek to deliver consistent alpha, they’d better refrain from pushing too many buttons, says Rob van Wechem, head of investments at private bank Oyens & Van Eeghen in Amsterdam.
The overabundance of indices will put an end to the industry’s obsession with beating benchmarks and give allocation its place in the sun, according to Alliance Bernstein.
The American asset manager has been at the forefront of the passives craze globally. So, why are UK investors so reluctant to recognise its disruptive potential?
According to the latest bi-annual S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) Europe Scorecard, active funds investing in the UK produced an average asset-weighted return of 24.2% from mid-2016 to mid-2017, compared with a 17.6% return for the corresponding S&P United Kingdom BMI benchmark.
Active funds investing in UK equities enjoyed strong 12 months, with 80% of sterling denominated funds outperforming benchmark.
With the exception of funds tracking the US and UK mid caps, no passive funds have been able to generate first or second quartile performance in their respective sectors over the past 10 years, according to research from Chase de Vere.
It was a bad time to be an active manager in 2016, the year of Brexit and Trump, with underperformance plaguing funds as passives tracked the market higher and higher.
Research from BMO Global Asset Management’s multi-manager team, headed by Rob Burdett and Gary Potter, shows that the cream of the active management crop have outperformed the top passive funds over the long term.
Passive rivals have forced active managers to focus more on fees than ever before. But are active managers biting off more than they can chew by getting into smart beta?
Worldwide profits for traditional mutual fund groups fell by close to 3% in 2016, despite higher assets under management, according to a report by McKinsey.
