The mirror fund has been made available in euro and dollar share classes, with between 50 and 80 global equity stocks to be held as part of its strategy to provide above-benchmark yield and potential capital growth.
According to data from Morningstar, since 1 June 2012 the fund has returned 41.7 per cent and outperformed the MSCI World Index, which returned 33.1 per cent over the same period up to 31 March 2014.
Henderson Global Investors’ head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa retail and Latin America, Greg Jones, said the current international economy ensured demand for income would not go away.
He added: “With interest rates at rock-bottom levels on an international scale, never has there been a greater demand for income from our client base.
“In recent years, the equity market has become an increasingly important hunting ground for yield. We do not see this trend abating.”
The Oeic fund was initially launched in February 2002 and since that date, according to Henderson Global Investors, the retail share class has yielded 3.4 per cent.
As of 31 March 2014, the top three holdings of the fund were Microsoft, Roche and Pfizer, and its sector exposure was 11.4 per cent in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, 8.3 per cent in banks and 8 per cent in media.
Provider view: Alex Crooke, Henderson Global Investors’ head of global equity income, said: “Increasingly, companies across the world are recognising the need to pay dividends. A global approach to income investing brings real diversification benefits, access to quarterly income and capital growth over the long term. We have a closely integrated global equity income team that is well suited to bottom-up stock-picking and searching for undervalued, unloved and underappreciated companies. The Sicav will be a real benefit to investors that prefer the offshore equivalent.”
Adviser view: Richard Troue, investment analyst at Bristol-based Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Ben Lofthouse and Andrew Jones are experienced income managers, while they also have the support of the 11-strong wider global equity team at Henderson, so they are certainly well resourced. The team’s investment approach focuses more on dividend growth than initial yield. Their philosophy is that value outperforms growth, and companies that can grow their dividend over time outperform the highest yielders in the market. I believe this is a sensible approach, although it might not suit an investor who is only concerned with getting a high yield now. A strict focus on valuation is a very important part of the process. They are generally looking for companies that have fallen out of favour but are fundamentally strong with good cash flows, solid balance sheets and underappreciated growth prospects. Overall, the approach appears robust and the value discipline is one I like. There are a number of good funds in the global equity income space and it is getting more competitive, but I believe Lofthouse and Jones will do a good job over the long term.”
Charges: On the retail share class there is an ongoing charge of 1.9 per cent, plus a 10 per cent annual performance fee, which is subtracted from the outperformance when the fund beats its benchmark.
Verdict: Offshore access to this well-respected fund will undoubtedly interest advisers with foreign clients, or those who prefer tax-friendly alternatives. However, despite the fund’s strong performance and good experience, the charges could take a big chunk of any returns.
