New Ratings
Capital Group New Perspective Fund – Gold
Francesco Paganelli
This fund is the Luxembourg-domiciled clone of the US-domiciled American Funds New Perspective, which also has a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold. We think the strategy and team breed confidence. The managers seek growth across the globe and aim to profit from changes in global trade patterns. We think the firm's multimanager system, which helps them to handle the strategy’s large asset base, also lets each individual play to his or her strength. This factor is compounded by the managers’ long experience, proven abilities, and aligned interests with investors. Outperformance has been the norm here: This fund was launched in October 2015, but its US sibling has built an impressive multidecade history. Last but not least, the fund’s pricing is competitive.
JPMorgan Funds US Value – Bronze
Thomas Lancereau
The fund benefits from the vast experience of lead manager Jonathan Simon. Here, he invests in undervalued mid and large-cap companies with a preference for higher-quality names although he accepts to buy firms with weaker (but improving) business fundamentals when their valuations are sufficiently compelling. Performance has been consistent, and the fund has outperformed peers over three, five, and 10 years through December 2016. Relative to its Russell 1000 Value Index benchmark, the fund has also outperformed over the long haul, although it has trailed its performance over five years. We think the fund’s strong performance success over the longer term testifies to the expertise of Simon as well as to the solid support he receives from the stable and experienced value team that has been working together for over a decade.
Upgrades
Threadneedle UK – Bronze
Simon Dorricott
These funds were rated Neutral following the appointment of Chris Kinder as lead manager in 2014. He replaced the previous manager Simon Brazier who had left the firm. Kinder had a strong track record on a small extended alpha fund, but not on a long-only product with significant assets under management, and this, together with team level changes, prevented a positive rating being awarded at that time. We have now seen evidence of Kinder’s ability to transfer his investment approach to this mandate and, as a result of our increased confidence, we have awarded the higher rating.
