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Emma Wall: Hello and welcome to the Morningstar series, “Ask the Expert.” I’m Emma Wall, and here with me today is Szymon Idzikowski, Morningstar analyst.
Hello Szymon.
Szymon Idzikowski: Hi, Emma.
Wall: So, we’re running this Active and Passive Investing Week, and we’re looking at the things that active managers can do that passive funds can’t. One of them that is unique to investment trust is to deploy gearing, which can help to boost returns, not always, but when used effectively. So, I thought perhaps you could outline some managers who do use it effectively.
Idzikowski: Sure. I think one fund worth highlighting could be Henderson Euro Trust (HNE), run by Tim Stevenson. What makes this fund quite unique is that he deploys the gearing very actively, tactically. He has an excellent opportunity to go both ways. He can either hold net cash up to 20% and he has done it in early as such as 2008 to protect investors from the downside. But likewise, he can actually gear the fund up when and if he sees enough opportunities in the market. And again he can do it up to 30%; in reality, it tends to be single digits; but either way, there is this opportunity and he has proven over time it can add value.
Wall: And so where he has high conviction in certain stocks, he can just add those extra exposures?
Idzikowski: Exactly.
Wall: And what’s the second trust today?
Idzikowski: Well so, a bit different way to actually use the gearing could be a long-term strategic approach, and that would be in a case where the fund manager might believe that his skill set is actually in a stock selection that he doesn’t want to might be get a distraction for an active management of the gearing, but he does recognise that actually gearing adds value over long term. And Murray International (MYI) is a great example. The fund is fund run by Bruce Stout and the Aberdeen global equity team and again, a great example of deployment of gearing that has added value over time.
Wall: And that’s a Gold Rated trust and its performance is pretty special, isn’t it?
Idzikowski: It is, and it’s going to be a combination of successful stock selection, and in this case, deployment of gearing.
Wall: And what’s the third trust today?
Idzikowski: Well, so the third one would be something that sort of falls in between my two examples. Baillie Gifford Japan (BGFD), I think, fits that very well. The fund is run by Sarah Whitley, and again, gearing tends to be quite a constant feature here. It tends to be in mid-teens; however, Sarah would flex it according to the set of opportunities she sees in the market.
Wall: And Japan is quite a tricky market, isn’t it? It has gone in and out of favor. Last year, in particular, it did exceptionally well for the first six months and then fell off. Does she use gearing then to perhaps protect against that volatility?
Idzikowski: Well, I think that's actually an amazing point you’ve made. I mean, Japan has been quite a challenging market to make money in the last 20 years, with the probably exception of last year and a couple of other markets. And she has still managed to add value, and like I’ve pointed out, gearing has been almost a constant feature most of the time.
Wall: So she deploys it effectively.
Idzikowski: She does deploy it effectively.
Wall: Szymon, thank you very much.
Idzikowski: Thanks for having me.
Wall: This is Emma Wall for Morningstar. Thank you for watching.