BT tops S&P large-cap Aus equities group
Standard & Poor's Fund Services has released its ratings of the Australian equities large-cap income peer group, with BT the only manager to receive the highest rating.
Out of the 10 managers rated, BT was one of seven to maintain its previous rating, while the review announced one upgrade, one downgrade and one new manager rating.
S&P Fund Services analyst Andrew Yap says there were a number of quality offerings.
"BT's Imputation and Geared Imputation funds have retained our premier rating due to our high regard for the stock-picking skills of the investment team. [We consider the team to be] stable and well resourced," Yap said.
"We upgraded Aviva Investors Prof Dividend Builder to four stars due to our increased conviction in this fund's overall investment proposition. Conversely we downgraded Clime High Yield Underdogs Fund to two stars due to poor product features, team instability, and concerns surrounding product viability," Yap said.
Income funds continue to be popular with yield-conscious investors due to the tax benefit associated with distributable franking credits, according to S&P. Despite a newer breed of equity funds offering more sophisticated strategies, these more traditional funds were likely to remain popular with income focused investors, S&P said.
A number of previously rated 'sibling' funds from Colonial First State, Macquarie, Perpetual, Optimum and Navigator had their ratings withdrawn because they no longer met S&P's criteria of a sibling fund to the main capability or 'headline' fund.
Recommended for you
Infrastructure assets are well-positioned to hedge against global uncertainty and can enhance the diversification of traditional portfolios with their evergreen characteristics, an investment chief believes.
Volatility in US markets means currency is becoming a critical decision factor in Australian investors’ ETF selection this year.
Clime Investment Management is overhauling the selection process for its APLs, with managing director Michael Baragwanath describing the threat of a product failure affecting clients as “pure nightmare fuel”.
Global X will expand its ETF range of exchange-traded funds next month with a low-cost Australian equity product as it chases ambitions of becoming a top issuer of ETFs in Australia.
