Most consistent funds of the decade: Multi asset
CF Ruffer European is the standout performer among those in the Mixed Investment and Flexible Investment sectors in the last decade.
By Jenna Voigt, Features Editor, FE Trustnet
Wednesday October 10, 2012
Nine funds in the multi-asset sectors have delivered top-quartile returns over the two consecutive five-year periods from 2002, according to
FE Trustnet research.
The majority of the funds sit in what are considered to be the most aggressive sectors in the mixed asset universe, holding more than 40 per cent equities.
The £237m CF Ruffer European fund topped the charts in the IMA Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector over both periods, outperforming the more aggressive £1.3bn M&G Managed Growth fund, which was the most consistent fund in the IMA Flexible Investment category.
No funds in the IMA Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares category made the list, while only the Jupiter Merlin Income fund delivered top-quartile returns over both periods in the IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector.
Most consistent multi-asset funds and sectors over 10yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The Ruffer fund has also achieved the highest Sharpe ratio of any fund across the mixed investment sectors over the 10-year period, at 1.18.
The Sharpe ratio measures a fund’s return relative to a notional risk-free investment – for example, cash. The difference in returns is then divided by the fund’s volatility.
Over the period, Ruffer European has also topped the tables in terms of Alpha, or the extra returns it makes over the performance of the market it invests in.
Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark over 10-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Richard Troue, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says he is positive on the fund but has refrained from putting it on the Wealth 150 list of recommended funds because the firm does not provide the level of communication he would like to see to keep clients up to date.
"It’s a fund I actually quite like and one of the most consistent funds in that sector over the past 10 years," he commented.
"We’re positive on it, but it’s quite difficult to get the level of information we need out of them to keep our clients up to date."
"I think they are of the view that they don’t need to take on a huge amount of assets at this point so they haven’t been actively marketing the fund and coming out to see people like us, and for that reason we haven’t added it to the Wealth 150 list."
Troue adds that managers Timothy Youngman and Guy Thornewill are positive on the Japanese market, and that it may not be the fund for any investors who do not share the same view.
However, he says the managers have proved successful at blending exposure to large cash-generating companies and fixed interest over the long term.
More than half of the fund is currently invested in European equities, with a total 74 per cent weighting in equities total.
The fund’s top holding is in UK index-linked gilts maturing in 2017. Among its top-10 are plastics manufacturer Carclo, Swiss-based chemical company Sika and Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil.
It has a minimum investment of £1,000 and an annual management charge (AMC) of 1.5 per cent. The TER of the fund is 1.57 per cent.