Like its £171.69m IFDS Omnis Threadneedle Balanced Fund, which is outperforming its peer group within the Investment Management Association Mixed Investment 40-85 per cent share category, the Omnis Advanced Fund is managed by Alex Lyle, and purports to offer greater diversification than traditional funds.
Omnis is a joint venture between Octopus Investments and advisory network Openwork, with its management outsourced to Threadneedle.
The portfolio, which has a minimum investment of £3000, followed by additional investments of £1000, is ranked 8th in the IMA Flexible Investment category, delivering three-year returns some 12.55 percentage points higher than the peer average.
Mr Lyle’s objective is to achieve capital growth over the medium to long term with above normal cash deposit savings rates.
The fund seeks to achieve this through investment exposure to UK and international equities managed by Threadneedle, while reducing the effect of short-term fluctuations in value through diversifying into alternative asset classes, such as fund that invest in commercial property, and private equity.
UK equities currently make up 39.28 per cent of the fund, followed by the US at 21.33 per cent and the Eurozone at 11.74 per cent.
Among its top holdings are the £1.98bn Threadneedle American Select Fund, and the £207.81m Threadneedle UK Select Fund.
The portfolio’s maximum annual charge is 1.50 per cent. It had a maximum initial charge of 3.00 per cent, and a total expense ratio of 1.89 per cent.
By comparison, the £1.99m Sharefunds Adventurous Fund placed 85th in the same IMA sector, delivering three-year returns of 23.69 per cent, some 6.7 percentage points lower than the peer average, and 19.25 percentage points lower than the Omnis fund.
Managed by Andy Parsons, the portfolio aims to achieve capital growth in excess of the MSCI World Index by investing primarily through a range of diversified collective investment vehicles.
It has a minimum investment of £1000, with minimum additional investments of £100, and a total expense ratio of 2.31 per cent.
The fund has a maximum initial charge of 0.5 per cent, and a maximum annual management charge of 1 per cent.
| IFDS Omnis Threadneedle Balanced Fund | SF Adventurous Fund |
| Top 5 Holdings | Top 5 Holdings |
| • Threadneedle American Select Fund: 12.58% | • JPM US Equity Income Fund: 7.95% |
| • Threadneedle UK Select Fund: 8.70% | • Blackrock European Dynamic Fund: 7.24% |
| • Threadneedle European Select Fund: 8.55% | • Aberdeen Emerging Markets Fund: 7.03% |
| • Threadneedle UK Fund: 7.96% | • Standard Life UK Smaller Companies Fund: 7.02% |
| • Threadneedle Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund: 6.94% | • Invesco Perpetual Global Smaller Companies Fund: 6.86% |
Adviser Says...
Gavin Haynes, managing director of Bristol-based Whitechurch Securities, said: “The Omnis fund’s performance has been solid since launch in 2009, broadly in line with the Flexible Managed sector, although it hasn’t been tested in a prolonged downturn. It is made up primarily of Threadneedle’s in-house funds. Although it has a good range of funds, I prefer an unfettered approach with a wider choice.
“The SF fund’s underlying holdings include a number of quality mainstream funds. However, performance has been unspectacular and the fund remains very small at just over £4m, which can push up the TER.”