Diving for pearls: Nine global funds worth considering
25 Nov 16
With 267 funds, the Investment Association (IA) Global sector is second only in variety to its UK All Companies, which comprises 269 funds. It is one of the oldest and most popular sectors and also very diverse, both in terms of type of offering and also in terms of performance.
Three year performance
Lindsell Train Global Equity follows a focused long-term process that seeks quality and value. Deep analysis of stocks and conviction allows the fund to ride out short-term fluctuations in share prices and ignore market noise. Unlike in many global funds, the US is not dominant in the country allocation, at only 34%. The UK and Japan are 26% and 24%, respectively, a fallout from stock selection and a clear reflection of the process.
Leading the pack of a number of thematic funds in the sector is the Fidelity Global Health Care Fund. It is understandably heavily weighted to the US, with around two-thirds of its assets based there. Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and Allegan are its biggest holdings. Roche and Novo Nordisk make up its largest holdings in Europe.
The Ardevora Global Equity Fund, co-managed by Jeremy Lang, is different as it has a 150/50 structure, using short positions to leverage the long side, resulting in a net 100%. The process is based around behavioural finance and three sets of people: investors, financial analysts and company managers. Risks are arguably higher in this fund compared with others in the sector because of the short book, but volatility is not out of kilter with the sector.
Tags: Investment Association | Investment Strategy | Rowan Dartington
