Simon Dorricott: I’m here today to talk about the Morningstar Analyst Rating change to the Axa Framlington UK Select Opportunities Fund which we have reduced from a Gold to a Silver rating.
With all our qualitative ratings, we continually assess the merits of each fund relative to its peer group. For a Gold rating we need to be absolutely certain that a product is better than almost all of its peers, and in this case, a few question marks have appeared that have reduced our level of conviction at the margin.
Specifically, we don’t feel the support team and structure of the process are significantly above some of our other highly rated funds, and there have been some question marks over recent decisions that have led to the lacklustre medium-term returns.
That said, we continue to see significant positives. The fund is managed by Nigel Thomas and we value his high level of experience in UK equities - which amounts to over 30 years - and the insights this provides.
Since taking over the fund in 2002 Thomas has demonstrated performance success against both the FTSE All-Share Index and peers. And, by awarding the fund a Silver rating we continue to express the view that, over the longer term, the fund has the potential to outperform both comparators.
So, in summary, holders of the fund should not be overly concerned about this rating change.
