UK managers, Sarasin Investment Funds and the IA Unclassified sector all winners of FE’s latest Crown Ratings rebalance

• UK managers have the highest number of five FE Crown rated funds

• Two previously unrated Sarasin funds bag five FE Crowns

• IA Unclassified sector with most FE Crown risers

UK managers have come up trumps in the latest bi-annual FE Crown Ratings rebalance, despite the measure of uncertainty that the May general election and Greek troubles have caused in the markets this year.

FE’s latest bi-annual Crown ratings rebalance uncovered a total of 318 funds which were given the highly-prized five FE Crown rating - with 51 UK funds (15 per cent) bagging the coveted top spot.

Oliver Clarke-Williams, from FE Research, says: “The success of UK managers is a tribute to how skillful these managers are in this sector – a much higher number than you would traditionally expect for such a developed, well-researched market and often thought of as difficult to outperform in.”

Further, UK managers make up a third (33 per cent) of the funds when the number of four and five rated funds are combined.

Away from the UK, emerging market managers ranked well with 34 out of 252 funds (13 per cent) being awarded five FE Crowns.

In the US - seven out of 98 funds (7.1 per cent of all five FE Crown rated funds) were awarded five FE Crowns, while 11 out of 133 European managers received five FE Crowns (8.2 per cent).

Additionally, the rebalance also saw ten previously unrated funds move to the highest rating.

Sarasin is the only fund house with more than one previously unrated fund get awarded five FE Crowns – the Sarasin Fund of Funds Global Equity and Sarasin Fund of Funds Global Strategic Growth fund.

Among the 10 previously unrated funds that have now been awarded five FE Crowns are the Invesco Perpetual Global Financial Capital fund and Schroder Small Cap Distribution fund.

On a sector level, out of a total of 639 funds gaining at least one FE Crown - the IA Unclassified sector has seen the most number of risers with 145 funds, followed by the IA Specialist sector (42 funds) and the IA UK All Companies (33 funds).

The top 10 per cent of funds are awarded five FE Crowns under FE’s rating system, with the following 15 per cent receiving four FE Crowns.

FE’s Crown Ratings, which evaluate funds according to alpha generation, volatility and the consistency with which they have beaten their benchmarks over the past three years, are rebalanced twice a year to cover these differing market conditions.

Mika-John Southworth, director at FE, says: “FE Crown ratings play a key role in supporting retail investors - bringing transparency and objectivity to the asset management industry.  It is a testament to the talent and quality of funds in the market that so many have continued to perform well despite the volatility and uncertainty that has plagued over the past 6 months.”