FE has awarded an Outstanding rating to M&G Investments for three asset classes in this year’s FE Group Awards: Global Equity, UK Fixed Income and International Fixed Income. Schroder Investment Management, Threadneedle Investment Services and Invesco Perpetual received two Outstanding awards apiece.

Now in their third year, the annual, quant-based FE Group Awards are calculated using investment performance as well as assets under management. FE amalgamates the FE Crown Fund Ratings that each group’s funds in the major asset classes have scored, allocating a higher weighting to ratings attained by larger funds. To gain an Outstanding award, groups must be obvious leaders in their asset classes.

FE found that in most asset classes a second house or several houses fell in behind the leader but were still clearly ahead of the pack; these groups receive a Highly Commended rating. FE is under no obligation to appoint Outstanding or Highly Commended asset managers in every asset class. If there are no stand-out groups within an asset class, no awards are given.

Commenting on M&G, Amandine Thierree, Fund Analyst at FE, said: “M&G’s success in fixed income can be attributed to their talented and experienced portfolio managers, and a huge pool of credit analysts, who are responsible for picking the best securities within allocations set by the portfolio managers. Research and debate is continual at all levels. Unsurprisingly, M&G dominates both the UK and international fixed income space because their research is done at a global level. For example in the sterling corporate bond sector, holdings can be in foreign companies so long as they issue debt in pounds, so the fixed income team has a global investment universe.

“M&G’s equity rating is certainly influenced by their Global Dividend fund, which is over £9 billion. Here again their resources are extensive, with teams divided by strategy rather than region. This forces managers and analysts to confront each other with their views on the same company, from different perspectives.”

Schroders kept the Outstanding award for Property it received last year, and added another Outstanding in Smaller Companies. It was also Highly Commended for UK Equity and Other Developed Equity Markets.
Oliver Clarke-Williams, Fund Analyst at FE, noted that: “Following Schroders’ purchase of Cazenove, the former Cazenove UK Smaller Companies (now Schroder UK Dynamic Smaller Companies) forms part of its score, helping Schroders to clinch the small-cap award.”

Threadneedle Investment Services kept its Outstanding accolades for Smaller Companies and Other Developed Equity Markets, and its Highly Commended for UK Equity, all of which it achieved last year.
Invesco Perpetual maintained its Outstanding award for UK Equity and was also named Outstanding in Mixed Assets for the first time.

Oliver Clarke-Williams, Fund Analyst at FE, explained: “The Group Awards provide an independent, quantitative snapshot of which groups have clear competitive advantages in which asset classes. Based on investment performance and assets under management, these awards are a good starting point for fund selectors seeking a strategy in one of the major asset classes. They are particularly useful if a lead fund manager leaves an award-winning group; investors can take reassurance that the group in question possesses deeper expertise and performance is unlikely to be solely attributable to the departing manager.

“For a complete picture of performance and capabilities, the Group Awards are designed to be taken into account alongside FE’s other ratings: FE Alpha Manager Ratings for individual managers; FE Crown Fund Ratings for funds; and the FE Adviser Fund Indices, which reveal asset allocations and fund picks recommended by the UK’s leading IFAs and wealth managers.”

A full list of the award winners follows: