The firm’s ‘Elite Radar’ badge is given to those that do not have the minimum three-year track record for the badge, but are on the research team’s watch list and are potential candidates for a full Elite Rating in the future.
Listed below, the five new Elite funds are:
- Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond
- AXA Framlington Biotech
- LF Lightman European
- Pictet Japanese Equity Selection
- JPM Global Equity Income
The two Elite Radar funds are the TB Amati Strategic Metals fund and the Artemis Global High Yield Bond fund.
Outlining why the funds were selected, Juliet Schooling Latter, research director at FundCalibre, praised the Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond fund as having a “flexible approach”, which uses rigorous research of a firm’s financials to select companies that have a margin of safety.
Manager Jonathan Golan was described as “one of the most exciting young bond fund managers around today”, who is “not afraid” to go for more unusual or smaller issuers.
AXA Framlington Biotech described was “one of the few winners from the impact of the Covid pandemic”.
The fund has increased 33.2% in the last three years, compared to a sector growth of 13.9% according to data from FE fundinfo.
Schooling Latter argued that the case for investing in biotechnology “is a strong one”, but requires a specialist and focused team to manage the evolving landscape.
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Meanwhile, LF Lightman European fund is now “one of only a few funds left with a genuine ‘value’ style”, according to Schooling Latter.
She noted that performance had been strong since its launch in 2019, even as value has recently have fallen out of favour, as the fund has still returned 7.6% in the last year.
Schooling Latter added: “For investors who can stomach the potential volatility, this could be a great option, especially if they are looking to balance out their style exposure elsewhere within their portfolio.”
Pictet Japanese Equity Selection was added due to offering “favourable growth prospects at a reasonable price”.
Schooling Latter also highlighted the fund’s promotion of environmental and governance practices, and a stock picking process that uses both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Finally, the JPM Global Equity Income fund was praised for its “huge global team of analysts”, allowing it to filter the global market, including emerging markets, to a portfolio of just 40 to 90 companies.
The research director said that the fund successfully balanced ‘compounders’ with “higher yielders and higher growth stocks”.
Elite Radar
The TB Amati Strategic Metals fund was launched at the start of 2021, aiming to tap into “unique investment opportunities” such as a push for decarbonisation.
Schooling Latter described the fund as a “great portfolio diversifier”, investing only in internationally listed metals and mining companies whose revenues are sourced from the sale of metals that have strategic importance to the global economy.
Meanwhile, the Artemis Global High Yield Bond was launched in November 2019, and was praised for its “unique approach” in taking advantage of inefficiencies from peers focusing on larger players.
School Latter stated: “By contrast, their approach of focusing on the smaller and medium players has allowed them to consistently find hidden gems with a strong upside, helping them to outperform. They are also supported by one of the strongest teams in the asset class.”
