Few multi-asset funds can challenge the Fidelity Moneybuilder Balanced fund for consistency or management calibre, yet its position in the Specialist sector means it is often overlooked by retail investors who rely on IMA classifications when building their portfolio.

The £251m fund is one of the very few that has five FE crowns and two FE Alpha Managers at the helm.

In Ian Spreadbury and Michael Clark the portfolio boasts two proven individuals who are sector leaders in their respective fields: Spreadbury runs the fixed interest side of the portfolio, while Clark is responsible for the equity exposure.

Performance of fund vs index over 15-yrs



Source: FE Analytics

Spreadbury has run the portfolio since August 1995 and under his guidance the fund has outperformed its benchmark – a 65/35 split between the FTSE All Share and FTSE British Government All Stocks indices – over one-, three-, five-, 10- and 15-year periods, with less volatility.

The fund’s record would be good enough to make it a top-quartile performer over all five time-periods in the three Mixed Investment sectors, as well as IMA Flexible Investment.

It is significantly less volatile than the average fund in the Flexible Investment and Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sectors, and has around the same score as IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares.

Performance of fund vs sectors and index over 10-yrs

	1-yr returns (%)	3-yr returns (%)	5-yr returns (%)	10-yr returns (%)
Fidelity - Moneybuilder Balanced	5.03	38.99	20.45	79.09
Benchmark	1.45	32.57	13.56	71.72
Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	-5.17	24.13	-1.44	49.46
Flexible Investment	-7.53	22.52	-6.87	48.47
Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	-2.17	22.12	2.99	42.36
Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	1.09	22.54	7.66	40.75

Source: FE Analytics

With a yield of 4.41 per cent, Fidelity Moneybuilder Balanced is also one of the highest-yielding mixed asset funds in the unit trust and OEIC universe.

Clark took over as manager of the equity portion of the portfolio in December 2009, following stints by Matthew Siddle, John Stavis and Timothy McCarron.

Since joining the team, Clark has helped it return 20.82 per cent, compared with 15.79 per cent from its benchmark. Of the 568 portfolios across the four mixed-asset sectors, only six have returned more over this period, and all but Trojan and Aberdeen Managed Distribution have been more volatile.

The manager’s proven expertise in picking low-risk, high yielding companies, which has served the Fidelity Moneybuilder Dividend fund particularly well in recent years, has had a major impact on the performance of Moneybuilder Balanced.

The fund has been significantly less volatile than its benchmark under Clark, and his bias towards quality companies that can grow their dividend held the portfolio in good stead in 2011.

The likes of GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Vodafone, which were among the best-performing FTSE 100 stocks last year, are all top-10 holdings in the fund; of the other seven, five are bonds, including four gilt options.

With a minimum investment of just £500, the fund is ideal for retail investors. It has a total expense ratio (TER) of 1.21 per cent, which is well below average for a mixed asset portfolio.