Which sectors had the most 5 Crowns?
Australian small and mid-cap equities had the highest percentage of 5 Crown rated funds in this latest edition of FE fundinfo’s Crown Ratings, representing 17% of the sector and significantly beating their global counterparts.
There were 14 funds in this sector which had a 5 Crown rating compared to just two for the global small and mid-cap sector. The total was also double the number of Australian large-cap equity funds which received a 5 Crown rating.
This was a reversal of the previous edition of Crowns in September when global small and mid-caps had the largest percentage of 5 Crown funds from any sector at 13%.
The Australian small and mid cap figure represented 17% of the sector, up from 11% in the last edition, and it also saw five funds upgraded plus one fund which debuted with 5 Crowns.
The five funds which were upgraded were SGH Emerging Companies, UBS Microcap, Pendal MicroCap Opportunities, Macquarie Australian Emerging Companies and DMP Australian Small Caps Trust, while Bennelong Emerging Companies was a new entrant.
Small cap funds performed well during the pandemic but it had been a very stock-specific performance due to the riskier nature of their investments compared to large caps. For Australian large cap equities, just one fund (Australian Ethical Australian Shares) was upgraded to 5 Crowns and only seven received a 5 Crown rating this year, some 3.8% of the sector.
In the global small and mid-cap space, just two funds received a 5 Crown rating, representing 5.7% of the sector, which were Bell Global Emerging Companies and Prime Value Emerging Opportunities and both retained their previous rating. The third 5 Crown fund from the last issue Ellerston Global Mid Small Unhedged fund was downgraded to 4 Crowns.
The largest total volume belonged to the global sector at 26 funds but this represented a smaller percentage at 13% of the total sector. The majority of these also retained their 5 Crown rating from the previous edition, with five being upgraded and one being a new entrant.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
Three Aussie fund managers have shared why they opted to expand their distribution to New Zealand, with adviser engagement rather than platforms crucial to achieving success in the wholesale market.viser engagement rather than platforms crucial to achieving success in the wholesale market.
While fund managers are eager to launch active ETFs to appeal to advisers, EY has found two-thirds of ETF flows are going into extremely cheap passive offerings with an expense ratio of less than 25 basis points.
Private markets may be the hot topic of the day but two financial advisers have shared the red flags to consider and why advisers shouldn’t be tempted to invest solely in the pursuit of higher returns.
The rise of private credit funds is giving research houses cause for concern about their viability for retail and wholesale investors and necessitating changes to their research process.
