Aberdeen Ex-20 fund ‘highly recommended’
The Aberdeen Ex-20 Australian Equities Fund has had its rating upgraded to "highly recommended" by Lonsec.
The fund, launched in August 2014, has a concentrated portfolio of around 20-60 Australian Securities Exchange listed companies, excluding the largest 20.
In its first year, to 30 September 2015, the fund delivered a net return of 14.86 per cent, outperforming the S&P/ASX 300 Acc Index (Ex-20 Leaders) by 9.95 per cent, Aberdeen's head of Australian equities, Rob Penaloza said.
"This Fund gives us an opportunity to deliver value to clients looking for an alternative or a complement to their large cap Australian equities exposures," he said.
"There are some compelling reasons for investing outside the top 20 Australian stocks. Our research shows that alpha potential for active Australian equity managers increases when you exclude the largest 20 companies from the ASX 300 index.
"That's partly because these companies are heavily researched, making it more difficult to uncover new information and exploit inefficiencies. They are also heavily skewed to the financial sector, creating a challenge for diversification.
"An ex-20 fund can reduce risk by offering greater diversification across a more equally weighted universe."
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