Funds gaining and losing ratings this December

FundCalibre has awarded five new funds the Elite Rating, and a further two have been added to its Elite Radar watch list.

However, due to a fund manager move, one fund has also lost its Elite status.

Here are the newcomers:

Elite Ratings

1. Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities: the manager of this fund adopts a high conviction approach, using the breadth of resource within Fidelity to hone his ideas. He compares what the market says about a company share price versus his own interpretation of its valuation, and focuses on finding the best companies rather than simply focusing on an industry or theme.
2. Guinness Asian Equity Income: a distinguishing characteristic of this fund is it has equally-weighted holdings. Investing in companies across the whole Asia Pacific region, including Australia, the portfolio has a one-in, one-out, policy and focuses on companies that can sustainably grow their dividend.
3. Invesco Asian: Manager William Lam invests in companies throughout Asia and Australasia (excluding Japan). The fund is concentrated and the investment style is value-orientated, with William looking for companies where the market is underestimating their earnings growth.
4. Standard Life Investments Global Smaller Companies: this is a textbook fund from Aberdeen Standard Investments. Using the company’s ‘Matrix’ screening tool, it identifies smaller companies from around the world – including emerging markets – which the team believes have the best growth prospects.
5. TIME:Commercial Freehold: this fund acquires commercial freehold ground rents and commercial freehold property, which benefit from long leases. It targets an income return of 4% per annum and has a very low correlation to fixed income and equities, so could be an excellent diversifier, as well as alternative source of income.

Elite Radar

1. VT Gravis UK Infrastructure Income: this fund invests mainly in investment trusts exposed to different types of UK infrastructure; from railways and roads to GP surgeries and solar power. Not only will it invest in infrastructure equities, but in debt too. Its current yield of 5.4% per annum is distributed quarterly.
2. FP CRUX UK Special Situations: launched in September 2018, this fund is run by straight-talking Yorkshireman, Richard Penny. Richard is a very talented stock-picker, and invests in UK stocks of all sizes – including a few carefully chosen AIM-listed companies.

Funds losing their Elite status:

1. Kames Investment Grade Bond: Elite Rated since FundCalibre launched in 2014, the manager of this fund, Stephen Snowdon, along with three other members of the fixed income team, have left the company to join Artemis. Due to the change of manager, the fund must lose its rating.

Other fund changes

1. The eagle-eyed among you will also have noticed that Elite Rated LF Livingbridge UK Micro Cap and Elite Radar fund LF Livingbridge UK Multi-Cap Income have both had a name change. As a result of Gresham House buying the UK funds business of Livingbridge, the funds have been renamed LF Gresham House UK Micro Cap and LF Gresham House UK Multi-Cap Income.

Commenting on the buy-out, Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said: “The 18 staff from Livingbridge have transferred together to Gresham House. I met with Ken Wotton, manager of the two funds, last week and he seems very happy with the move and excited about the future.

“As the only change is to the fund names – the investment team and process remain unchanged – we are happy to retain the ratings for both funds.”