BlackRock funds lose Elite Rating as manager steps down

Sarah Culver 21/06/2017 in Equities, Europe

Yesterday, BlackRock announced that Vincent Devlin, manager of the BlackRock Continental European & BlackRock European Absolute Alpha funds, would be stepping down from fund management.

Stefan Gries and Giles Rothbarth, both members of the BlackRock European equity team, will be appointed as portfolio managers on the BlackRock Continental European fund. Stefan Gries will also continue to co-manage the BlackRock European Absolute Alpha fund and will be joined by David Tovey, another member of the team with 19 years’ experience.

Commenting on the change, Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said: “I have to say this move is a bit of a surprise. Vincent had underperformed over the last 18 months but his three and five year performance, as well as his longer track record over his tenure on the funds, are all still ahead of the sector averages.

“The European team at BlackRock is one of the most stable and well-resourced, but we have no choice but to remove the Elite Ratings on both funds. We have not met Stefan or David and, as Vincent was very much the lead manager, we can not attribute the track record required for our AlphaQuest screen to the other managers.”

This article is provided for information only. The views of the author and any people quoted are their own and do not constitute financial advice. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any fund or trust, or to adopt a particular investment strategy. However, the knowledge that professional analysts have analysed a fund or trust in depth before assigning them a rating can be a valuable additional filter for anyone looking to make their own decisions.Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Market and exchange-rate movements may cause the value of investments to go down as well as up. Yields will fluctuate and so income from investments is variable and not guaranteed. You may not get back the amount originally invested. Tax treatment depends of your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. If you are unsure about the suitability of any investment you should seek professional advice.Whilst FundCalibre provides product information, guidance and fund research we cannot know which of these products or funds, if any, are suitable for your particular circumstances and must leave that judgement to you. Before you make any investment decision, make sure you’re comfortable and fully understand the risks. Further information can be found on Elite Rated funds by simply clicking on the name highlighted in the article.

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