Boutique investment house Downing Fund Managers is set to launch a multi-asset fund-of-funds range for UK financial advisers.
Available from June, the four strategies within the VT Downing Fox Funds range will be designed and run by former Premier Miton portfolio manager Simon Evan-Cook.
He said: “I’ve been stewing over the multi-asset industry’s shortcomings for a long time now. Downing offered me a clean sheet of paper to design and run a new multi-asset suite that’s simple, reliable and easy to use. I believe we’ve achieved that with the Downing Fox range.”
The range will be made up of strategies comprising either 100%, 80%, 60%, or 40% equities. This exposure will consist of long-only actively managed equity funds. The rest of each offering will entail a mixture of government bonds and developed-market cash.
Evan-Cook added: “A key differentiator is that, in our non-equity holdings, our funds can have significant exposure to cash if we believe it’s the best defensive option. This was a huge advantage last year. But most multi-asset portfolios won’t do this, largely because clients don’t like paying management fees on cash.
“We’re solving this problem by not charging management fees on the non-equity parts of our funds. We call this the ‘Whisky & Water’ model. And like any good bartender, we don’t expect you to pay for the water.”
Downing currently uses the same investment approach on its VT Johnston Cautious Portfolio and the VT Johnston Growth Portfolio offerings.
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