The latest monthly update of highly rated funds on the SharingAlpha platform has highlighted the Cobas Internacional and the DWS Deutschland funds among those most highly rated by SharingAlpha’s platform users constituting professional fund selectors across Europe and beyond.
Cobas now has two funds in the top 10 – the other being its Selección fund which has moved up on its position the previous month. Others making gains include the Magallanes European Equity, Vanguard US Opportunities and Schroder GAIA Two Sigma Diversified funds.
The funds are rated on the key factors of people, price and portfolio. The scores represent the ‘wisdom of the crowd’, as they are based more on qualitatively derived expectations of fund selectors rather than backward looking quantitative filtering.
Highly rated funds
| Fund | Domicile | Average Rating | Raters | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liontrust European Income Fund | United Kingdom | 5 | 7 | same |
| Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund | United States | 4.92 | 5 | same |
| Invesco Global Leisure Fund | Luxembourg | 4.91 | 6 | same |
| Cobas Internacional FI | Spain | 4.87 | 5 | new |
| Magallanes European Equity FI | Spain | 4.82 | 20 | up |
| Vanguard US Opportunities Fund | Ireland | 4.81 | 6 | up |
| Sextant PEA | France | 4.81 | 15 | same |
| Cobas Selección FI | Spain | 4.8 | 8 | up |
| Schroder GAIA Two Sigma Diversified | Luxembourg | 4.79 | 15 | up |
| DWS Deutschland | Germany | 4.78 | 6 | new |
From the scores attributed to individual funds by fund selectors, SharingAlpha can compare the performance of those funds against equivalent ETFs, to gauge the alpha generation attributable to the skill of the selector. The closer the performance of the fund to the expectation of the selector, the higher the score of the selector. This is called a ‘Hit Score’ by SharingAlpha, which can then be compared between peers to identify groups of selectors who consistently do well, exhibiting selection skills.
The platform also enables fund selectors to run funds of funds, to establish asset allocation rankings. Again, this facilitates the generation of a track record of measurable skill on the part of the selector.
The data generated by platform users also enables SharingAlpha to provide updated rankings of providers, popular funds, popular categories, highly rated funds by category, and highly rated hedge funds. The ratings are provided on the basis of data available to the end of June 2018.
Highly rated providers
| Provider | Funds Rated | Number of Ratings | Average Rating | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fundsmith | 3 | 66 | 4.56 | same |
| Robeco | 25 | 80 | 4.5 | same |
| Deutsche | 30 | 72 | 4.44 | up |
| MainFirst | 9 | 62 | 4.44 | down |
| Schroders | 41 | 151 | 4.37 | up |
| Liontrust | 7 | 123 | 4.37 | down |
| M&G | 23 | 131 | 4.33 | same |
| GAM | 28 | 126 | 4.32 | same |
| Legg Mason | 13 | 56 | 4.31 | same |
| Pimco | 36 | 82 | 4.28 | same |
Most popular funds
| Fund | Domicile | Fund of Fund Count | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundsmith Equity | United Kingdom | 25 | same |
| Old Mutual Global Equity Absolute Ret Fd | Ireland | 20 | same |
| M&G Optimal Income Fund | United Kingdom | 17 | up |
| Magallanes European Equity FI | Spain | 15 | up |
| BSF European Opportunities Extension Fd | Luxembourg | 14 | up |
| Nordea 1 – Stable Return Fund | Luxembourg | 14 | down |
| JPM Global Macro Opportunities Fund | Luxembourg | 13 | new |
| Hermes Global Emerging Mkts | Ireland | 12 | up |
| Morgan Stanley INVF Global Opportunity Fund | Luxembourg | 12 | new |
| Allianz Europe Equity Growth | Luxembourg | 11 | down |
Popular categories
| Category | Score | Allocation Score | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe Equity Mid/Small Cap | 100 | 100 | same |
| Market Neutral | 48 | 57 | same |
| UK Equity Mid/Small Cap | 58 | 45 | same |
| Africa Fixed Income | 35 | 44 | same |
| Africa Equity | 52 | 8 | same |
| Europe Equity Large Cap | 39 | 18 | same |
| Precious Metals Sector Equity | 38 | 15 | same |
| Currency | 36 | 16 | same |
| Technology Sector Equity | 30 | 23 | up |
| Asia ex-Japan Equity | 28 | 21 | down |
Highly rated funds by category
| Category | Fund | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive Allocation | MFS Meridian Prudent Wealth Fund | MFS |
| Allocation | BlackRock Global Allocation Fund | Blackrock |
| Asia ex-Japan Equity | Schroder ISF Asian Opportunities | Schroders |
| Asia Fixed Income | Matthews Asia Fds Asia Credit Opps | Matthews Asia |
| Asia Equity | Fidelity Pacific Fund | Fidelity |
| Cautious Allocation | Invesco Pan European High Income Fund | Invesco |
| Greater China Equity | Janus Henderson China Opportunities Fund | Janus Henderson |
| Commodities Broad Basket | Vontobel Dynamic Commodity | Vontobel |
| Consumer Goods & Services Sector Equity | Invesco Global Leisure Fund | Invesco |
| Convertibles | UBS (Lux) IF Global Convertible Bonds | UBS |
| Currency | First Trust FactorFX ETF | First Trust |
| Emerging Markets Equity | Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund | Oppenheimer |
| Emerging Markets Fixed Income | BGF Emerging Markets Bond Fund | Blackrock |
| Energy Sector Equity | First Trust North Amer Engy InfrasFund | First Trust |
| Europe Equity Large Cap | Liontrust European Income Fund | Liontrust |
| Europe Equity Mid/Small Cap | Magallanes European Equity FI | Magallanes |
| Euro Fixed Income | La Francaise LUX Multistratégies Obligataires | La Francaise |
| Euro Money Market | BNP Paribas Money 3M | BNP Paribas |
| Flexible Allocation | Belgravia Épsilon FI | Belgravia |
| Global Equity Large Cap | Fundsmith Equity Fund Feeder | Fundsmith |
| Global Equity Mid/Small Cap | True Value FI | Renta 4 Gestora |
| Global Equity | Eurizon Sustainable Global Equity | Eurizon Capital |
| Global Fixed Income | PIMCO GIS Global Bond Fund | Pimco |
| Market Neutral | Pictet TR – Agora | Pictet |
| Long/Short Equity | Charlemagne OAKS Emerging and Frontier Opp Fund | Fiera |
| High Yield Fixed Income | Nordea 1 – European High Yield Bd Fd II | Nordea |
| India Equity | Kotak India Midcap Fund | Kotak |
| Industrials Sector Equity | RobecoSAM Smart Materials Fund | Robeco |
| Inflation Linked | Sanlam Multi Mgd Inflation Lnkd Bond | Sanlam |
| Japan Equity | Janus Henderson Horizon Jpn Smr Coms Fd | Janus Henderson |
| Miscellaneous | Eaton Vance Global High Yield Bond Fund | Eaton Vance |
| Moderate Allocation | Acatis – Gané Value Event Fonds UI | Acatis |
| Multialternative | Schroder GAIA Two Sigma Diversified | Schroders |
| Other Alternative | Candriam Bds Credit Opportunities | Candriam |
| Other Europe Equity | Sextant PEA | Amiral Gestion |
| Other Fixed Income | GAM Star MBS Total Return | GAM |
| Precious Metals Sector Equity | BGF World Gold Fund | Blackrock |
| Property-Direct | Schroder UK Real Estate Fund | Schroders |
| Other Sector Equity | RobecoSAM Sustainable Water Fund | Robeco |
| Real Estate Sector Equity | Schroder Global Cities Real Estate Fund | Schroders |
| Natural Resources Sector Equity | Investec GSF Global Natural Resources Fd | Investec |
| Technology Sector Equity | DNB Fund Technology | DNB |
| Sterling Fixed Income | GAM Star Credit Opportunities (GBP) | GAM |
| UK Equity Large Cap | Jupiter UK Special Situations Fund | Jupiter |
| UK Equity Mid/Small Cap | Liontrust Special Situations Fund | Liontrust |
| US Fixed Income | GAM Star Credit Opportunities (USD) | GAM |
| US Equity Large Cap Blend | Ossiam Shiller Bcly Cape US Sect Val TR | Natixis |
| US Equity Large Cap Growth | MS INVF US Growth Fund | Morgan Stanley |
| US Equity Large Cap Value | Robeco BP US Premium Equities | Robeco |
| US Equity Mid Cap | Vanguard US Opportunities Fund | Vanguard |
| US Equity Small Cap | Nuveen NWQ Small-Cap Value Fund | Nuveen |
| Africa Equity | Marriott Dividend Growth | Marriott |
| Africa Fixed Income | STANLIB Aggressive Income | STANLIB |
Highly rated hedge funds
| Fund | Domicile | Average Rating | Raters | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liontrust European Income Fund | United Kingdom | 5 | 7 | same |
| Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund | United States | 4.92 | 5 | same |
| Invesco Global Leisure Fund | Luxembourg | 4.91 | 6 | same |
| Cobas Internacional FI | Spain | 4.87 | 5 | new |
| Magallanes European Equity FI | Spain | 4.82 | 20 | up |
| Vanguard US Opportunities Fund | Ireland | 4.81 | 6 | up |
| Sextant PEA | France | 4.81 | 15 | same |
| Cobas Selección FI | Spain | 4.8 | 8 | up |
| Schroder GAIA Two Sigma Diversified | Luxembourg | 4.79 | 15 | up |
| DWS Deutschland | Germany | 4.78 | 6 | new |
Fund selector comments
Users of the SharingAlpha platform have also provided comments on certain of the funds rated over the past month.
Alexandre de Mahieu senior investment advisor at Vellut, Namèche & Associés said: of the Nuveen NWQ Small-Cap Value fund: “Good performance this year YTD. But globally sometimes underperforming, sometimes overperforming. Globally an average performance & risk.”
Gaurav Sharma, independent research analyst, commented on the Kotak India Midcap fund that: “After the recent reclassification exercise by the SEBI, this fund is renamed as Kotak Small Cap fund. My insights: 1) NAV has fallen by around 12% in 2018-to date; 2) More than 50% allocation in cyclical sectors include over-allocation in basic materials and under-allocation in financial services compared to both category averages and benchmark; 3) The manager is looking to generate alpha through basic materials, industrials and information technology stocks; 4) Around 14% of holdings are still in large cap stocks – a little bit of style drift (could be used as a cushion to the recent fall in SMID caps); 5) High expense ratio – starting from 2.3%; 6) <40% turnover is good; 7) New investments in consumer based themes – retail, clothing – good sign; 8) The fund has not been able to fully capture the upside in the markets; 9) Solid management and investment team. All-in-all an above average fund, which can be a part of moderately high risk investor.
Ignacio Martín Ocaña senior portfolio manager at Alpha Plus Gestora, said of the MS INVF US Growth fund the he considers it “best in class US large cap growth fund with a growing and consistent alpha generation (+400 pbs accumulated in last 3 years).”
“1.2x beta is in line with the growth investment approach combined with an 8.7% tracking error against (>80% active share vs Russell 1000 Growth index), which is not exactly right as the fund is focused on large caps. 80% of the portfolio concentrated on sectors like IT (40%) consumer (20%) and healthcare (20%) in a concentrated portfolio of just 35 holdings (+20% median five-year EPS growth and +18% sales growth)….companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Alphabet, Illumina and Twitter.”
Yuli Petreikov, senior portfolio manager at Pioneer Wealth Management, notes that the GAM Star Credit Opportunities (USD) is “an exceptional fund.”
“There are no passive instruments to get exposure to junior debt of investment grade companies. Because of the high coupon (of 5%-6%) the fund is affected less by the rising yield.”
Carla Veiga, senior fund manager at GNBGA, said of the Invesco Pan European High Income fund: “Excellent fund in terms of performance and investment process.2
Jorge Martret, director of management at Talenta Gestión, said of the BSF Fixed Income Strategies fund that it is a “must be” in a conservative portfolio.
Jose Reinosa, investment advisor at Julius Baer, said of the Nordea 1 – Stable Return fund: “Value style fund with a bias to mid-caps, managed by a highly skilled team who holds a concentrated portfolio on high conviction stocks. Track record is still short but it shows a great performance since launch with a good risk management.”
Carlos Prado Conde, analyst at Sássola Partners, said of the MFS Meridian Prudent Wealth fund: “Portfolio manager with a very conservative point of view. High levels of cash and UST-Bills in one hand and in the other a very conservative equity portfolio overweight in consumer staples and technology.”
Beatriz Hernández Ribes, funds analyst at atl Capital, said of the Robeco BP Global Premium Equities fund that: “The fund’s index is very difficult to beat due to the risk-return efficiency. Despite this handicap, Robeco Global Premium has been able to outperform the market in many opportunities. It has one of the best quantitative and qualitative ratings from Morningstar using a value approach. From atl Capital we would highly recommend this fund to cover global markets within a diversified portfolio.”
