Mi-Plan takes top spot in asset manager rankings

CAPE TOWN-BASED boutique investment firm Mi-Plan Asset Management is in top place in the PlexCrown ranking of local asset managers that offer unit trust funds (as at March 31 this year), having pushed Raging Bull champions Allan Gray down to second place.

In other surprise moves, PSG Asset Management, which has consistently been in the top three companies for a number of years, has dropped to fifth place, while Coronation Fund Managers have shot up through the rankings to occupy third place. Investec Asset Management is placed fourth.

These results come in the wake of the first-quarter upswing in local financial markets after the shock downturn at the end of last year.

The PlexCrown Fund Ratings rate actively managed retail unit trust funds on risk-adjusted performance over five years.

Management companies are ranked according to the PlexCrown ratings of their qualifying funds (funds score from one to five PlexCrowns, with three PlexCrowns representing average performance). The ratings form the basis of the Raging Bull Awards for unit trust funds, hosted annually by Personal Finance.

For the actual quarterly performance figures and PlexCrown ratings of selected funds, see the table on page 14.

MI-PLAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Mi-Plan had eight qualifying funds. Two of them, the Mi-Plan IP Global Macro Fund and the Mi-Plan IP Inflation Plus 7 Fund, achieved the highest score of five PlexCrowns. Five funds scored four PlexCrowns, and one scored three PlexCrowns. The weighted average of the funds was 4.214 PlexCrowns (up from 4.133 for the quarter to the end of December 2018).

ALLAN GRAY

Allan Gray also had eight qualifying funds. Two funds, the Allan Gray Bond Fund and the Allan Gray Stable Fund, scored five PlexCrowns. There were three funds with four PlexCrowns, two funds with three PlexCrowns and one fund, the Allan Gray-Orbis Global Optimal Fund of Funds, with a single PlexCrown. The weighted average was 4.179 PlexCrowns (a drop from 4.835 at the end of last year).

CORONATION FUND MANAGERS

Coronation jumped into third place after being in eighth position at the end of 2018. Coronation had 18 qualifying funds. Six of these scored five PlexCrowns (Coronation Global Capital Plus [ZAR] Feeder

Fund, Coronation Optimum Growth Fund, Coronation Resources Fund, Coronation Smaller Companies

Fund, Coronation Bond Fund, and Coronation Jibar Plus Fund), six scored Four PlexCrowns, four scored three PlexCrowns, and two scored two PlexCrowns. The weighted average was 3.962 PlexCrowns (up from 3.532 at the end of last year).

OFFSHORE MANAGERS

Management companies domiciled offshore whose funds have been approved by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority to be marketed to South African investors are also rated and ranked. These include South African companies with offshore operations.

Nedgroup Investments remains top among the offshore managers, with Schroders in second place and Investec Asset Management in third.