Zenith grants recommended ratings to Bell AM
Global equities boutique manager, Bell Asset Management (BAM) has announced that its two funds, the Bell Global Emerging Companies Fund and Bell Global Equities Fund (Platform), have been awarded with ‘recommended’ ratings in inaugural reviews from Zenith.
Bell’s chief investment executive, Ned Bell, said that increasing concerns over global equity market volatility saw both retail and institutional investor interest in BAM’s active strategies, including the BAM Global Small and Mid-Cap (SMID) strategy.
“Passive investment strategies have served investors well over the last nine year but now, with volatility returning to the market, we are seeing to pivot to active investment,” he said.
The Bell Global Equities Platform fund has delivered a one-year net return of 14.18 per cent, outperforming its benchmark, the MSCI World ex Australia Index, as of 31 October, 2018.
The Bell Global Emerging companies Fund produced a return of 14.54 per cent and similarly outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI World SMID Cap Index, by 9.03 per cent in the same time frame, the firm said.
“In our view, Global SMID offers the best comparative upside and downside capture and provides a way for investors to diversity their mega and large cap exposure,” Bell said.
Recommended for you
Outflows from an Australian private markets fund manager have caused FUM at Pacific Current to decline by $1 billion in the last quarter.
Former RIAA chief executive Simon O’Connor has joined the ethical advisory panel at U Ethical Investors.
Financial services leaders are “all cashed up with nowhere to grow” when it comes to M&A activity, according to Deloitte, with 90 per cent saying they have strong balance sheets ready for an acquisition.
As fund managers are urged to diversify their product ranges, they are finding a faster way to do this is via an acquisition of existing firms but experts say it is not without potential culture clashes.