Fidelity International has launched a fresh list of top funds which analysts have picked, to help advisers choose from the 2,000 funds available on its platform.
The ‘Select 50’ list is made up of 50 funds which Fidelity analysts think have the highest conviction.
According to the asset management giant, investors using the Fidelity Personal Investing platform can also benefit from lower charges on around half of the funds on the list.
Discounts range from five to 10 basis points.
The list rivals Hargreaves Lansdown’s ‘Wealth 150’, which almost halved its recommended funds in December.
Funds are assessed on the level of discount the fund house can offer Fidelity customers, as well as pricing, the responsiveness of the fund provider when dealing with enquiries, access to the fund manager, and the quality of fund information.
Tom Stevenson, investment director for personal investing at Fidelity International, said the number of funds available in the market grows by the day, meaning investors have more choice than ever before.
But he added customers often find this abundance of choice “overwhelming”.
The list was produced after research found customers prefer a shorter, more focused list which is easy to navigate.
It is broken down into eight sectors: alternatives, Asia and emerging markets, bonds, Europe, global, Japan, North America and the UK.
“It surely cannot be beyond most advisers to make their own selection of funds they consider the best.” Blair CannBlair Cann, senior partner at M Thurlow & Co, said: “Ed Conway, economics editor of Sky TV, said in an article in the Times newspaper a few months back that you can always rely on ‘experts’ to get it wrong.
“I wonder how many of the Select 50 will still be in the Select 50 in five years time and how many of the analysts will still be analysing?
“It surely cannot be beyond most IFAs to make their own selection of funds they consider the best, based no doubt on continuously superior past performance (despite the caveats), continuity of management, and above all the relevance of the fund to the client’s risk profile and objectives.”
Mr Cann said charges would be an “incidental” factor, adding: “Fidelity’s efforts are really not relevant as far as I am concerned and, such a list together with a charge reduction incentive, must come perilously close to advising if available directly to clients.”
katherine.denham@ft.com
