Henderson and Martin Currie funds downgraded to ‘neutral’

Morningstar OBSR has cut the ratings on the $106.04m (£65.7) Henderson Gartmore Emerging Markets fund and the $6m Martin Currie GF Japan fund.

The research agency said it had downgraded the Henderson Gartmore fund, managed by Chris Palmer, to ‘neutral’ from a previous rating of ‘bronze’.

It said it “no longer has conviction in the manager’s ability to add value over the benchmark” in spite of his experience in emerging markets and said the fund had “struggled from performance perspective”.

But Morningstar OBSR said its “overarching concern is the degree to which the manager, Chris Palmer, has been able to utilise Henderson’s Asian equity research capabilities”, particularly given that Asian equities account for nearly 60 per cent of the MSCI Emerging Markets benchmark.

Elsewhere, the ratings service also downgraded the Luxembourg-domiciled Martin Currie GF Japan fund to ‘neutral’ from ‘bronze’.

Morningstar OBSR’s said its conviction in the fund had “diminished following a deterioration in the fund’s performance profile over a protracted period of time”

The firm also said that the fund, run by Japan equity star John Millar, had fallen below its minimum fund size requirement.