Allan Gray is back as SA’s top manager

LARGER AND MOSTLY INDEPENDENT ASSET MANAGERS DOMINATE RAGING BULL AWARDS After falling from first place among South African fund managers four years ago, Allan Gray has reclaimed the prestigious Raging Bull Award for the fifth time. reports

The 21st Raging Bull Awards were dominated by large and mostly independent fund managers, which walked off with the lion’s share of the awards.

Allan Gray made a significant comeback to collect the Raging Bull Award for the South African Management Company of 2016, winning the title for the fifth time for the returns it earned for you, its investors, across all its qualifying funds to the end of last year.

The company won the award for four years in a row until 2011, before falling to second place in the ranks of unit trust management companies for 2012 and 2013.

For 2014, Allan Gray fell out of the top three rankings altogether, before coming third for 2015.

Allan Gray also collected three certificates: for straight and risk-adjusted performance by its Global Fund of Funds, which invests across global asset classes, and for straight performance by its South African multi-asset fund that has a low exposure to equities.

The awards were held this week at a gala dinner at Summer Place in Johannesburg attended by almost 300 investment professionals. The Raging Bull Awards are hosted by Personal Finance in conjunction with its data providers, ProfileData and PlexCrown Fund Ratings.

Nedgroup Investments, which last year won the Raging Bull Awards for South African Management Company of 2015 and Offshore Management Company of 2015, maintained its position as the top offshore management company, but dropped to third position in the rankings of managers of South African funds.

Nedgroup Investments also claimed two Raging Bulls: for its Global Flexible (multi-asset) Fund and the Private Wealth Equity Fund, a Nedbank Private Wealth fund that is managed by Nedgroup Investments.

In addition, five of the asset manager’s funds received certificates. These were the Global Flexible Fund and its rand-denominated feeder fund, the Financial Fund, the (multi-asset medium-equity) Opportunity Fund (for straight and risk-adjusted performance) and the (multi-asset low-equity) Global Cautious Feeder Fund.

PSG Asset Management also made a remarkable comeback: from seventh position last year it clawed its way back up the ladder to second place, ousting another independent manager, Coronation Fund Managers, from its usual place among the top three managers.

Coronation ended in fourth place overall, although only the top three managers are recognised. Four of Coronation’s funds claimed certificates: the Industrial Fund, the Bond Fund (which won certificates for straight and risk-adjusted performance), the Jibar Plus (South African multi-asset income) Fund and the Global Capital Plus Fund (which invests in all asset classes around the world).

SPECIAL AWARDS

Another independent manager, Investec Asset Management, received the two special Raging Bull Awards that were handed out to mark the 21st anniversary of the awards. The special awards went to Investec’s Equity Fund for straight performance by a South African equity general fund over 21 years and to the Investec Managed Fund, for risk-adjusted performance by a South African multi-asset equity fund over 21 years.

Investec also won a Raging Bull Award for its Value Fund, which was the best performer over three years to the end of last year. The fund, managed by long-standing and much-revered value manager John Biccard, went through a fouryear cycle of under-performing the FTSE/JSE All Share Index and its peers in the all-important South African equity general sub-category. But last year the fund came storming back with a return in excess of 60 percent, bringing long-term investors relief and proving that those investors who pick a fund with a strong style bias need to have the conviction to stick with their managers through the cycles that come with style investing.

The management company of the year award is based on the overall risk-adjusted performance of all a company’s funds in unit trust sectors that consist of five or more funds with a performance history of at least five years to the end of 2016.

Raging Bull Awards are given to top performers in the largest unit trust sub-categories by assets under management. The awards for straight performance are made on the basis of three-year returns, while risk-adjusted awards are made on the basis of returns over three and five years weighted towards the long term.

More than 40 certificates are awarded to winners of straight and risk-adjusted performance in all qualifying sub-categories.

Only two boutique managers, Centaur and Contrarius, won a Raging Bull Award this year.

Centaur’s Flexible Fund received the award for risk-adjusted performance in the South African multiasset sub-category, where there are no restrictions on how much a fund manager can hold in a particular asset class.

Contrarius’s Global Equity Fund was the top-performing offshore FSB-approved fund in the global equity sub-category.

Prescient led the South African fixed-interest sector, where its Income Provider Fund captured the Raging Bull Award for top performance among bond, income and multi-asset income funds. The Income Provider Fund also received the certificates for the best multiasset income fund on straight and risk-adjusted performance.

NFB, the asset manager within the NFB Financial Services Group, won the Raging Bull Award for the best multi-asset fund despite being in the multi-asset low-equity sub-category, where funds’ equity exposure is limited to 40 percent.

Old Mutual’s Global Equity Fund continued to dominate in the rand-denominated global equity sub-category, winning its fifth Raging Bull Award in a row.

The Raging Bull Awards were established in 1997 to honour the managers of funds that consistently earn good returns for South African retail investors.