Walter Scott leads international equities pack - S&P

The Walter Scott Global Equity Fund has maintained its five-star Standard & Poor’s (S&P) rating in the research house’s latest international equities sector review.

S&P Fund Services rated 13 funds in the growth peer group, which comprised seven managers, with Macquarie Professional Services’ Walter Scott fund leading due to its “well established and proven investment process”.

S&P noted the “stable, highly experienced, and well-credentialed investment team”, adding that the fund also showed the best risk-adjusted return across one, three and five-year periods.

Amid increased volatility, S&P said all funds in the peer group experienced negative returns for the three years to the end of May 2009. However, all previously rated funds “remained stable”.

Four new products were rated, a new manager — T. Rowe Price — was added, and Aberdeen’s acquisition of Credit Suisse Asset Management earlier this year meant two additional “capabilities” were included in the sector.

S&P noted “disappointing returns” for AXA’s Whole Global Equity — Growth Fund, saying the manager “has taken steps to enhance its process and some positive personnel changes have occurred”.

S&P said “growth has recovered and performed more strongly” in the year to the end of August 2009, improving longer-term performance.

S&P fund analyst Simone Arblaster said the growth index is outperforming the value index over the one and three-year periods to the end of August.

“But, over longer time periods, value still remains ahead,” Arblaster said.