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Fund Research & Insights
How Did ESG Funds Perform in Q1?
Market News -
The first quarter of 2021 was a challenging one for the performance of investments screened on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Why? The best performing sector in global equity markets was energy, while technology was the worst. ESG screens tend to favour technology and avoid the carbon-intensive energy sector. Reflecting ESG’s first-quarter struggles, Morningstar’s range of ESG-screened indices generally underperformed their broad market equivalents in the first quarter, with...
How Did Funds Perform in September?
Market News -
On average all assets classes produced positive return in September, according to our monthly heatmap. In a sharp turnaround from August, money market funds generated the best results during the month - up on average 2.2%, according to Morningstar Direct data. And having a closer look at the different subsectors within the category, USD Money Market funds performed particularly well, up an average of 3.5% in the month. Also in the same bright green...
Is My Fund a Liquidity Trap?
Market News -
As we have seen in recent weeks, open-ended funds and illiquid investments are a potentially lethal combination. But, despite the panic, investors don’t actually need to fret too much that their fund is a liquidity trap. The most popular funds invest largely, if not entirely, in very liquid assets – publicly traded large-cap stocks, government debt, and the like. That said, the risk can’t be entirely ruled out, as episodes such...
More Funds Add ESG Criteria as Sustainable Investing Grows
Market News -
The number of actively managed funds that are adding environmental, social, and governance criteria to their prospectuses is exploding. I first noticed this phenomenon two years ago when several funds run by J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and RBC did so. Then last year, another 51 funds added ESG criteria to their prospectuses, including all 21 funds run by Aberdeen. But in this year's first quarter alone, an astounding 73 funds added ESG criteria...
Why Bogle was the Best CEO
Market News -
Bogle was the best chief executive officer in fund history, and second place isn’t even close. He began in the right place: attempting to create top-notch products. That advice sound obvious, but in the '70s it was not. Many leading mutual fund companies offered mediocre funds. The general belief was that “funds are sold, not bought,” and that what mattered for business success was distribution power and brand recognition. Strong fund returns were...
Days are numbered for quarterly client reporting.
Insights -
I read with interest the FT’s recent article ‘The long and short of the quarterly reports controversy’ (Owen Walker, Monday July 2, 2018). The article reflects on how Paul Polman, on his first day as chief executive of Unilever in 2009, bravely ditched the FTSE 100 company’s quarterly earnings reports and with it all the other short term-focused KPIs normally included. Polman’s argument, in short, was that for a firm focused...
3 Biggest and Best Global Funds
Market News -
Largest Fund Malcolm MacColl, Spencer Adair, and Charles Plowden have managed Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Growth which carries a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Bronze, since its June 2010 inception and have been with the firm for an average of 23 years. The managers follow Baillie Gifford’s tried and tested fundamentally-based, long term approach that seeks companies with competitive advantages and superior business models that generate above-average earnings growth. The managers pay little...
Is it Time to Dump Woodford?
Market News -
Investing personalities are often subjected to the age-old question: Is it skill or is it luck? From Warren Buffett to Neil Woodford, periods of underperformance often coincide with bad luck and harsh criticism regarding the alpha they can provide. In this regard, investing in valuation-driven, high conviction managers becomes more complex than it needs to be, as many investors pull out of a fund at the earliest sign of underperformance. Instead, we...
How Global Income Funds Differ
Market News -
Funds in the Global Equity Income category are expected to share one characteristic: Their portfolio dividend yield should be higher than the yield offered by the broader market. Yet, how funds arrive at the portfolio yield can differ. Some funds like Kempen Global High Dividend apply an absolute dividend yield hurdle, 3% minimum dividend yield at initiation, for their portfolio candidates, while others like Newton Global Income apply a relative yield screen, considering only...
3 Top Rated Emerging Markets Funds
Market News -
Aberdeen Emerging Markets Equity Long-term focused investors will find Aberdeen Emerging Markets an excellent fit. A large, well-resourced investment team is led by Devan Kaloo. An individual we hold in high regard, Kaloo has been at the firm since 2000 and, like a number of his colleagues, has spent the majority of his investment career at the firm. Kaloo also acts as global head of equities, a role he took on in July...
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