Aberdeen Standard Investments was the most heavily researched asset management group by professional investors using FE Analytics during the first half of the year, FE Trustnet analysis shows.
Funds managed by the combined asset manager, which was formed through the merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life last year, garnered the most views on the research platform during the first half of the year.
We used the FE Analytics Market Intel Tool to find out which fund management houses had been research by the financial advisers, discretionary fund managers and other professional investors on FE Analytics in 2018 so far.
As proportion of the total number of research views in the Investment Association universe, Aberdeen Standard Life portfolio accounted for 6 per cent – putting it firmly in the top spot.
The £64.4bn asset manager was followed by Schroders and Fidelity International, with each taking 4 per cent of the total sum.
Source: FE Analytics
As a proportion of the total views for the top-10 most researched asset managers, Aberdeen Standard stands out more prominently with a 17 per cent share of views. Schroders takes 12 per cent of the total share and Fidelity received 11 per cent of the views.
Below FE Trustnet highlights the most closely watched funds of the most researched fund houses among users of FE Analytics.
Aberdeen Standard Investments
The merger of Aberdeen and Standard Life last year was one of the biggest in recent memory, creating the largest active asset management group in the UK.
Yet, while now merged, the two brands continue to offer products under their original brands.
So far this year, it has been Standard Life funds that have dominated the group’s most researched funds and one fund above all stands out: Standard Life Investments Global Absolute Return Strategies.
The fund – widely known as GARS – is one of the largest funds in the UK retail industry although it has seen some outflows following underwhelming performance more recently.
Last year the fund rose by 2.34 per cent compared with a 3.39 per cent for the average IA Targeted Absolute Return fund – although it should be noted that the sector is home to a range of strategies – and a 0.49 per cent rise in the benchmark LIBOR GBP 6-Months index.
However, it has struggled again this year and recorded a loss of 4.31 per cent during the first half of 2018, compared with a 0.36 per cent rise for the benchmark.
The £17.9bn fund is overseen by the Standard Life multi-asset investing team headed by Guy Stern and aims to provide positive returns in all market conditions over the medium-to-long term.
Other most-researched funds among FE Analytics users were Standard Life Investments Global Smaller Companies, Standard Life Investments UK Equity Income Unconstrained and Standard Life Investments MyFolio Managed III.
Of the three, the best performer during the first half of the year was the £1.2bn, five FE Crown-rated Standard Life Investments Global Smaller Companies fund, managed by Alan Rowsell.
The fund has delivered a 14.52 per cent return during the first half of the year compared with a gain of 2.47 per cent for the average IA Global sector peer.
Performance of fund vs sector during H1 2018
Source: FE Analytics
Rowsell invests in a concentrated portfolio of smaller companies listed across the world with the ability or potential to be future leaders in their fields.
The most researched Aberdeen fund was the £1.2bn Aberdeen Emerging Markets Equity fund.
The fund has lost 9.27 per cent during the first six months of the year as emerging markets have fallen out of favour as the US dollar strengthens and fears of a trade war grow.
In comparison, the average IA Global Emerging Markets fund fell by 5.97 per cent and the MSCI Emerging Markets index benchmark dropped 4.36 per cent.
Schroders
London-based asset manager Schroders was the second-most researched group by FE Analytics users during the first half of the year, with Richard Sennitt’s Schroder Asian Income attracting the most attention.
The four FE Crown-rated, £1.3bn fund was flat during the first half of the year, although it managed to outperform the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan benchmark, which was down by 1.49 per cent, and a 1.80 per cent loss for the average IA Asia Pacific Excluding Japan sector fund.
While an income-focused strategy, the fund invests in companies that have the capacity to grow and win market share providing an element of capital growth.
“The fund is one of the few focusing on Asia Pacific that offers income to investors and it has managed to grow that income each year, even through the financial crisis,” noted analysts at FE Invest, who have included it on the Approved List of preferred funds.
“It also offers investors different sources of income and currency exposure for diversification purposes as mainstream income funds available in the market are more UK or developed-market focused.”
Another heavily researched Schroders fund by FE Analytics users was the £2.1bn Schroder US Mid Cap fund overseen by FE Alpha Manager Jenny Jones and Robert Kaynor.
The mid-cap fund has struggled so far this year with a return of 1.75 per cent total return compared with a 7.83 per cent gain for the Russell 2500 index. Its average peer in the IA North America index has returned 5.16 per cent, although many are unconstrained by market cap size.
This year’s underperformance comes after a challenging 2017 in which it rose by just 5.72 per cent despite a strong year for US equities. Despite the underperformance it remains a favourite among advisers who have included it in the Adviser Fund Index (AFI) series.
Andrew Rose’s £2.7bn Schroder Tokyo fund was also heavily researched during the first half of the year, although it too has lost money this year, underperforming the TOPIX index and average sector fund.
Meanwhile, the five FE Crown-rated Schroder Asian Alpha Plus fund – managed by Matthew Dobbs – also features albeit with more positive performance of 0.48 per cent in H1, compared with a 2.41 per cent loss for the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index.
Fidelity International
The most researched product for asset manager Fidelity International is the £2.5bn, four FE Crown-rated Fidelity Emerging Markets fund, headed up by FE Alpha Manager Nick Price.
Like similar strategies, Price’s fund has recorded a loss in 2018 and is down by 4.89 per cent during the first six months of the year. This compares with a 4.36 per cent drop in the MSCI Emerging Markets index benchmark but is ahead of a 5.97 per cent loss for the average IA Global Emerging Markets member.
Performance of fund vs sector & benchmark in H1 2018
Source: FE Analytics
Another heavily researched Fidelity fund during the first half was the £1.7bn Fidelity Strategic Bond fund, overseen by FE Alpha Manager Ian Spreadbury alongside Claudio Ferrarese and Timothy Foster.
The fund, which invests in sterling-denominated or sterling-hedged government and corporate debt, lost 2.42 per cent during the first half of the year compared with a 1.59 per cent drop for the average IA Sterling Strategic Bond fund.
Another closely watched fund was FE Alpha Manager Alex Wright’s Fidelity Special Situations. The four FE Crown-rated UK equity fund generated a total return of 1.74 per cent during the first half of the year, outperforming the 1.69 per cent gain for the FTSE All Share index.