Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were awarded in all 36 Investment Management Association (IMA) sectors. The ultimate medal winners were those that ranked best in terms of investment return, low relative fund volatility, risk adjusted returns and for ‘manager skill’.
Fiducia Director Gordon Kearney commented: “The country is seeing a lot of negative news at present, most of it financial and even the ‘Big Event’ is getting a negative build up, which is very disappointing because this is a once in a lifetime event for the UK and the facilities themselves are outstanding. This is our small contribution to a ‘good news agenda’ and an antidote to the ‘spot the dog fund’ listings. So, yes, unashamedly it is a bit of fun, but let’s get in the spirit and celebrate excellence where it is deserved.”
The overall winners of our Challenge were Aberdeen Asset Management with a total of 5 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze beating Henderson Global Investors into second place based on their Gold medal tally. M&G finished in the Bronze medal position.
Kearney commented: “It came as no surprise to us that Aberdeen have done so well – in the main they are a conservative house which has helped them navigate the ‘choppy waters’ of the last five years. It maybe significant that they employ a strong team discipline, which provides for greater continuity than the ‘star managers’ approach.” That is a debate that remains undecided.
We were also not surprised to see the medal table dominated by the larger institutions, Kearney commented “the ‘Big Event’ equivalent of the likes of M&G, Schroders and Fidelity would be China, Russia and the USA – the greater the size of the country and it’s population the more competitions they can compete in and there is a parallel in fund management.”
However the big boys didn’t have it all their own way with lesser known investment house, such as MFS Meridian bagging an impressive 2 Gold and 1 Bronze. It was also interesting to see that Threadneedle and First State, despite securing an impressive haul of 7 and 6 medals respectively, were beaten in the medal standing by lesser known Crystal due to our medal ranking system.
Full details of all the winners for each of the 36 sectors can be found on Fiducia’s website at:
https://www.fiduciawealth.co.uk/about/2012-fund-management-challenge/