Investec won big, as their Global Franchise Fund took prestigious top honours in the category of Best Equity Fund at the Morningstar Awards, held on Tuesday evening.
The award stands to recognise the “the one-year performance of the fund, the winning fund also needed to have delivered strong three- and five-year returns after adjusting for risk,” stated Investec.
Despite the volatility of the international markets over the past year, the fund has proved itself by outperforming the market by more than 12%.
This accolade sees the fund receiving a five-star rating (the highest possible rating), for the year ahead.
What is the Investec Global Franchise Fund?
Under the management of Clyde Rossouw, the Investec Fund is made up of a ‘concentrated portfolio of 25 to 40 shares, predominantly listed in developed markets.’
The Fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through investment in shares of companies around the world. The Fund will have a blend of investments and will be unrestricted in its choice of companies either by size or industry, or in terms of the geographical make-up of the portfolio.
The Global Franchise Fund is based on investing in high quality companies, ‘operating in industries with high barriers to entry and low capital intensity, will achieve attractive returns, with less than average absolute volatility,’ Investec highlighted.
These companies include the likes of renowned blue chip company, Visa as well as Johnson and Johnson.
“Rossouw and his team favour high-quality, global franchise businesses, which typically have high customer loyalty, strong brands, no debt and are more resilient in times of economic uncertainty,” added Investec.
Benefits
In addition to the dependable nature of their returns with lower volatility than that of the global equity markets, it’s low correlation to South African equities see various diversification benefits for local investors.
Other benefits include the fact that portfolio holdings are able to better survive the current state of minimal economic growth because they are typically less reliant on borrowing.
Extensive first hand research and a series of meetings held between Rossouw and his team and the management of these top holding companies make for a range of sound stock choices.
Another highlight is that the fund boasts an unconstrained benchmark. This could see the avoidance of pressure on the portfolio managers to meet agreed upon benchmarks by taking unwarranted risks.
“The fund further has a free cash flow yield of 5.2%, return on invested capital of 17.3%, average price earnings ratio of 19.5% and average market capitalisation of US$133 billion. It also currently has more than 90% invested in developed market listed stocks,” said Investec.
About Investec Asset Management
Investec Asset Management is an independently managed subsidiary of Investec Group.
Investec Asset Management is a specialist investment manager, providing a premier range of products to institutional and individual investors. Established in 1991, the firm has been built from start-up into an international business managing almost R1.6 trillion on behalf of third party clients. Investec seeks to create a profitable partnership between clients, shareholders and employees, and to exceed expectations for both client service and performance.
For information, including how to access the fund, visit Investec.