Despite data showing an outflow of £1.6bn from US equities in Q1
Having seen inflows of close to £2.3bn ($3.25bn, €2.7bn) in 2020, funds invested in US equities witnessed net outflows of £1.6bn in the first quarter of 2021, according to the Investment Association.
The bulk of those outflows took place in March, with the IA revealing investors redeemed a net £1.09bn from the IA North America sector. This made it the second least popular peer group behind Sterling Corporate Bond – which witnessed an outflow of £1.47bn for the month.
While some of this may be a result of profit taking following a very strong run for the US market, Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell Investments, said another factor may also be at work.
Mark Wharrier exits Majedie after run of underperformance
He will be replaced as manager of the £100m UK Income fund by Majedie founder Chris Field
Majedie UK Income fund manager Mark Wharrier has left the firm after a run of underperformance and will be replaced by Chris Field.
Wharrier (pictured) joined Majedie in May 2018, just seven months after he was hired by Troy Asset Management as assistant manager on the Trojan Income fund alongside Francis Brooke and Hugo Ure. Prior to joining Troy, he co-managed the Blackrock UK Income fund and Income and Growth investment trust.
Since Wharrier took over management on 5 November 2018, the Majedie UK Income fund has lost 1.7%, compared to its benchmark index, the FTSE All-Share, which gained 11%, while the IA UK Equity Income sector returned 12% over the same period, according to FE Fundinfo.
Charles Younes: The equity funds we’re backing for volatile markets
FE Investments adds five equity funds in its latest rebalance, with Slater Growth and Baillie Gifford European making the cut
The vast differences in the roll out of the Covid-19 pandemics around the world have led to markedly different effects on the markets. While in the UK, the success of the vaccine rollout has led to some cautious optimism, in areas such as India, further lockdowns are being enacted as the prospect of a third wave is causing increased volatility.
If 2020 taught us one thing, it was that predicting the markets is ultimately a fruitless endeavour. At FE Investments, we instead prefer to look at managing risk and a key component of this is to use fund manager alpha from different investment strategies to diversify our portfolios, using our ‘Approved List’ of recommended funds.
Road to recovery – is now a good time for equities?
After a year of uncertainty, it is preferable to target risk levels rather than make market calls
By Charles Younes 26
th April 2021 9:35 am
At the time of writing, global markets are still being plagued by uncertainty. While in the UK the government’s vaccination rollout has led to some long-overdue optimism, lockdowns are being implemented across much of Europe as talk of a third wave of coronavirus on the continent grows.
The events of the past year have shown the near impossibility of predicting market movements and the impracticalities of taking a short-term approach. This is a reason why we prefer to target risk levels, rather than making market calls.
Home / News / Terry Smith, Richard Watts and Anthony Srom join FE Fundinfo’s hall of fame
Terry Smith, Richard Watts and Anthony Srom join FE Fundinfo’s hall of fame
A trio of the best-performing active fund managers have reached the seven-year ‘alpha-rated’ streak
Terry Smith, Anthony Srom and Richard Watts have joined FE Fundinfo’s alpha manager hall of fame, while 10 managers were booted from the list, including former Invesco manager Mark Barnett.
Fundsmith Equity manager, Smith (pictured), Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities manager, Srom, and manager of the Jupiter UK Mid Cap fund, Watts, were all awarded a place in the hall of fame “in a year where extreme volatility has tested the markets and challenged returns”.