In focus
in various IA Mixed Investment,
Targeted Absolute Return and
Unclassified sectors, an equally
weighted portfolio of multi-manager
funds with a track record of at least
one year returned 3.62 per cent over
the past 12 months. This compares
with an 11.09 per cent return from the
MSCI World index and a 1.52 per cent
gain from the FTSE All Share.
At a price
Funds with top-quartile performance
over this period include the high-
profile Jupiter Merlin Worldwide
Portfolio, co-managed by John
Chatfeild-Roberts, and the
£1.7bn BlackRock
NURS II Global
Equity fund.
Several smaller,
less well-known
funds also rank
highly, with
Margetts
Sentinel
Enterprise
top with
gains
FE TRUSTNET
[ SECTOR PROFILE ]
40 / 41
of 16.9 per cent, VT Alligator the best
performer over three years with gains
of 59.1 per cent and Thesis Eldon
Income winning out over five and 10
years with returns of 105.4 per cent and
315.3 per cent, respectively.
FundCalibre research analyst Chris
Salih says the problem for the multi-
manager sector is that
this performance has
always had the caveat
of an additional layer
of charges. However,
he notes that fees in
the sector have
been falling
consistently in
recent years.
“According
to Defaqto,
in 2014 the
average
IMPACT OF MULTI-MANAGER FEES OVER 25YRS
£500,000
Value after charges Value of charges
(£328,435) (£133,258)
£400,000
£300,000
£200,000
£100,000
£0
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Source: FE Analytics. 6.31% assumed annualised returns (FTSE All Share’s 5yr average), 1.37% fund charges
ongoing charges figure (OCF) for
multi-asset funds was 1.34 per cent,
while the average multi-manager
OCF was 1.73 per cent,” he says. “The
figures for 2018 show these numbers
have fallen to 1.13 per cent and 1.37
per cent, respectively.
“While some funds have achieved
this through the use of
fettered funds and/or
passive funds, as actively
managed funds continue to
lower fees, it’s a trend we can expect
to continue, with multi-managers being
cognisant of the growing need to keep
costs as low as possible.”
The problem for the multi-
manager sector is that
this performance has
always had the caveat of an
additional layer of charges
One such multi-manager is IBOSS
Asset Management. Having launched
its risk-rated OEIC fund range in 2016,
a year later it took the decision to
lower charges through the use of more
passive funds.
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