EuropeanApr 16 2014

EFG launches Swiss equity fund under award-winning Urs Beck

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by

The open-ended New Capital Swiss Select Equity fund, which will invest in 35 to 40 Swiss stocks, has no benchmark constraints and has been employed to invest across all market capitalisations.

The fund will be managed by Urs Beck, the Swiss equity fund manager who recently joined EFGAM from Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank, where he received the FERI award for best fund in the Swiss equities category in 2013 and 2014.

Mr Beck ran both institutional and retail Swiss equity mandates for seven years, and in his new role will combine his “expertise in bottom-up stock selection” with EFGAM’s top-down sector analysis.

According to EFGAM, the Swiss market provides a “stable platform and international exposure” for investing, and has developed into one of the asset manager’s “core competencies”.

The fund is currently open to institutional and qualified investors, but is set to be made available to retail investors pending registration in Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden.

Retail investors will be charged an annual management fee of 1.35 per cent.

This launch marks the eighth sub-fund in the New Capital mutual range and joins the New Capital Dynamic European Equity fund as part of its portfolio of European funds.

Mr Beck said: “Launching a focused Swiss equity fund for the New Capital fund family is an excellent opportunity for me to leverage my expertise to benefit EFG’s clients.”

REACTIONS

Provider view

Patrick Zbinden, chief executive at EFG Asset Management Switzerland, said: “We are very pleased to have an experienced portfolio manager of Urs’ calibre and proven track record join the New Capital family of funds.

“The development of Swiss equities as one of our core competencies further underlines our commitment to investment management in Switzerland.”

Adviser view

Patrick Connolly (pictured right), certified financial planner at Chase de Vere, said: “There are a number of good quality established and growing companies listed in Switzerland that have the potential to perform well in the future.

“However, it is not appropriate for most UK investors to get specific exposure to Switzerland. Instead they should get access to Swiss companies through more broad-based European funds.

“We use European funds like JPM Europe Dynamic, Henderson European Growth and Jupiter European.”

Charges

The annual management fee for the retail share class – CHF Ord A – is 1.35 per cent.

Verdict

The Swiss investment market has often been referred to as one of the most defensive in Europe, particularly after it outperformed during the volatility of the eurozone crisis.

But now with investment attitudes changing as many of the eurozone economies exit recession, the Swiss equity market’s status as a safe haven has arguably lost some of its appeal.

The country is home to many internationally respected companies and, in terms of smaller-caps, has a fairly vibrant economy that is said to be relatively friendly to up and coming entrepreneurs.

Such factors will probably appeal to the more risk-averse investor, although those same investors may prefer to invest back home in the UK, or alternatively to focus on funds that look for the best opportunities across the entire Continent.