Multi-managerApr 6 2016

Premier fund comes 5th in second bestselling sector

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Premier fund comes 5th in second bestselling sector

Ranked 5th in the Investment Association’s Mixed Investment 40-85 per cent sector, the fund has increasingly outpaced its peers over the past three years, returning 24.2 per cent against the 13.3 per cent sector average, FE figures reveal.

Figures from FundsNetwork revealed that the Mixed Investment 40-85 per cent group was the second bestselling sector for February.

The £292.6m fund has three-quarters invested in equities, with exposure to the UK market making up 19.4 per cent of the allocation and the remainder invested internationally.

It also has small chunks of exposure to other markets, including property shares at 6 per cent, fixed interest at 9 per cent and alternatives at 3.2 per cent.

Top holdings include GLG Undervalued Assets at 8 per cent in total, Hermes Multi Strategy Credit fund at 3.9 per cent and Evenlode Income Institutional at 3.8 per cent.

The fund’s minimum investment is £1,000 and the annual charge is 1.5 per cent.

Alternatively, the M&G Episode Growth fund is ranked 104th in the sector after delivering a 7.7 per cent return over three years against 13.3 per cent in the peer group.

The fund management team has nearly touched its 85 per cent equity limit with shares totalling almost 84 per cent, spread across the US, Europe, and Asia.

According to Morningstar data, it has 4.8 per cent invested in the Republic of Italy, 5.4 per cent invested in iShares Core FTSE 100, and 4.9 per cent in Source S&P 500 ETF.

The minimum initial investment is £500 and the ongoing charge is 1.5 per cent.

Premier Multi-Asset Growth & IncomeM&G Episode Growth
1. GLG Undervalued Assets 4%1. Republic of Italy 5.4%
2. GLG Undervalued Assets Fund 4%2. iShares Core FTSE 100 4.9%
3. Hermes Multi Strategy Credit 3.9%3. Source S&P 500 ETF 4.9%
4. Evenlode Income Institutional 3.8%4. Source Financials S&P US Select 4.9%
5. Charlemagne Emerging Market Dividend 3.7%5. iShares FTSE MIB Dist 4.4%

Adviser view:

Patrick Connolly, certified financial planner at Chase de Vere, said: “Both of these funds adopt a contrarian approach, and have very different underlying portfolios and performance records as a result.

“The M&G fund is primarily an equity and government bond fund at present, with 32 per cent in US equities, while Premier is more of a true multi-asset offering, with currently only 2 per cent in US equities.

“The Premier fund has a large number of underlying holdings often investing in specialist funds, and because of this its charges are quite expensive. Although this hasn’t held back performance, with its valuation-led approach producing strong returns for investors.

“We are supporters of the Premier Multi Asset team and use this fund as well as the other funds managed by David Hambidge.

“The M&G fund hasn’t performed so well. With its Episode range it tries to take advantage of market inefficiencies where emotions drive asset prices.

“This approach will always mean there will be times of under-performance. The challenge for M&G is getting the longer-term numbers to read much better.”

katherine.denham@ft.com