The 12 months to May 31 were, it’s fair to say, a lot more difficult for investors than the year before. So it’s no surprise that this backdrop has led to a shake-up of Investment Adviser 100 Club membership for 2016.
The Club, details of which can be found at ia100.ftadviser.com, is reviewed annually and aims to highlight the best funds and investment trusts available to intermediaries by analysing short- and long-term performances, alongside other criteria.
Rather than just one standout firm, this year there are several. Last year’s leader, JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM), has been joined by Axa Investment Managers (IM), Fidelity International and Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) in having the most member funds. JPMAM led the way with seven funds in 2015; this year each of the quartet has four portfolios included in the Club.
As a result, JPMAM, Axa IM and Fidelity make repeat appearances in the Large Investment Group category, with OMGI again featuring in the Small to Mid Investment Group section. Jupiter Asset Management and Royal London Asset Management also return in the latter category.
However, in a sign of the extent to which fund performance has been recast over the past year, few individual portfolios make repeat appearances: just one in 10 vehicles return this year.
This has created opportunities for a number of groups to move up the rankings. Schroders is a group member for the first time in three years, while BlackRock makes its inaugural appearance. The extent of the outperformance displayed by BlackRock’s two member funds was enough for it to pip other asset managers with two member portfolios.
This means there is no group membership for last year’s Large Investment Group winner, Baillie Gifford. Its number of member funds has halved from four to two.
It is a similar story in the Small to Mid Investment Group, where 2015 standout Henderson was beaten out by Royal London Asset Management on the basis of relative outperformance. This is the first time in the Club’s history that Henderson has not featured in a group category.
Meanwhile, Lindsell Train and Troy Asset Management return to the smaller grouping, having last featured in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Of course, the volatility seen during the assessment period – June 2015 to May 2016 – has already been surpassed by that experienced in the aftermath of the UK referendum vote. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Property sector, with multiple funds having suspended trading entirely in July. As it happens, none of those portfolios had strong enough performances prior to this to qualify for this year’s Club.
One vehicle, L&G UK Property, has seen its value slashed in an attempt to stave off redemptions. But the fact that it remains open, coupled with its prior performance, meant it was still eligible for inclusion at the time of writing.
A panel of fund selection experts – due to be announced shortly – will decide which is the best fund or group in each category later this summer.
The winners will be announced at the 100 Club Awards on October 20, 2016.
The Club is a fully RDR-ready tool for intermediaries, as it pits open-ended and closed-ended funds together within categories, and also highlights the best passive fund providers. The calculation process is based on funds’ total returns across one and five years relative to the performance of a broadly relevant benchmark or sector.
The data source was FE Analytics, and all performance figures quoted are bid-to-bid and rebased in sterling where currencies differed. The performance figures range to May 31 2015.
For more information and details about the awards night, contact Claire Harris at claire.harris@ft.com.
