Allan Gray hits perfect score in PlexCrown Survey

26 October 2010 | Investments | General | PlexCrown Fund Ratings

Allan Gray again hit the perfect score of five PlexCrowns in the September quarter, ranking as the leading South African investment house among those that qualified for overall rankings in the latest PlexCrown Survey.

According to Ryk de Klerk, director of PlexCrown Fund Ratings, the quarter saw significant changes in the rankings of South African investment houses (see tables 1 and 2) as the roller-coaster quarter was characterised by wild swings in the equity market. “The FTSE/JSE All Share Index was up by more than 11% in July, down by more than 8% at some stage in August, only to rally by 11% afterwards to close the quarter 12,2% up,” says De Klerk.

Allan Gray dominated all the asset classes in which the house competed. It was placed joint first in domestic equity, domestic fixed interest, domestic asset allocation, foreign equity, and foreign and worldwide flexible. “The company’s funds have all achieved the maximum rating of five PlexCrowns based on risk-adjusted returns of funds, which is truly remarkable,” says De Klerk. The Allan Gray-Orbis Global Fund of Funds was the top-performing foreign asset allocation flexible fund (see table 3).

Nedgroup Investments was again runner-up with an overall rating of 3,75 PlexCrowns. Its rating was underscored by jointly leading in domestic fixed interest and fifth spot in domestic equity. The investment house’s Financial Fund, Value Fund and Bond Fund all topped the charts in their respective categories.

Prudential was hot on Nedgroup Investments’ heels in third place overall with 3,71 PlexCrowns, with the company sharing top spots in foreign equity and domestic real estate.

Orbis, closely associated with Allan Gray, took the honours as top foreign investment house for its FSB-approved offshore funds. The company’s Optimal SA Fund (euro class) and SICAV Japan Equity Fund were leaders in their respective categories.

Table 1

Overall Management Company Ratings June 2010 Quarter
1	Allan Gray
2	Nedgroup Investments
3	SIM
4	Prudential
5	Coronation
6	Investec
7	RMB
8	Investment Solutions
9	Old Mutual
10	Oasis
11	STANLIB
12	STANLIB Multi-Manager
13	Absa

Table 2

Overall Management Company Ratings September 2010 Quarter
1	Allan Gray
2	Nedgroup Investments
3	Prudential
4	Coronation
5	SIM
6	Oasis
7	Old Mutual
8	RMB
9	Investec
10	Investment Solutions
11	STANLIB
12	STANLIB Multi-Manager
13	Absa

Table 3

Allan Gray’s funds	PlexCrown Rating on 30 September 2010
Allan Gray Balanced Fund A	5
Allan Gray Bond Fund A	5
Allan Gray Equity Fund A	5
Allan Gray Stable Fund A	5
Allan Gray-Orbis Global Equity Feeder Fund A	5
Allan Gray-Orbis Global Fund of Funds A	5

Graph 1: Domestic Investment Proficiency
(Click on image to enlarge)

Table 4: Top-ranked funds based on PlexCrown Ratings

Unit Trust Category	Fund
Rand−denominated funds
Domestic − Asset Allocation − Prudential High Equity	Umbono Moderate Managed Fund of Funds
Domestic − Asset Allocation − Prudential Low Equity	Coronation Balanced Defensive Fund A
Domestic − Asset Allocation − Prudential Medium Equity	Baroque Moderato Fund of Funds
Domestic − Asset Allocation − Prudential Variable Equity	Coronation Balanced Plus Fund A
Domestic − Asset Allocation − Flexible	PSG Flexible Fund
Domestic − Real Estate − General	Prudential Enhanced SA Property Tracker Fund
Domestic − Equity – Financial	Nedgroup Investments Financials Fund A
Domestic − Equity – General	Absa Select Equity Fund
Domestic − Equity – Growth	RMB Strategic Opportunities Fund A
Domestic − Equity – Industrial	Coronation Industrial Fund
Domestic − Equity − Resources & Basic Industries	Old Mutual Mining and Resources Fund R/A
Domestic − Equity − Smaller Companies	RMB Small Mid-cap Fund
Domestic − Equity – Value	Nedgroup Investments Value Fund A
Domestic − Fixed Interest − Bond	Nedgroup Investments Bond Fund A
Domestic − Fixed Interest − Income	STANLIB Cash Plus Fund A
Foreign − Asset Allocation − Flexible	Allan Gray-Orbis Global Fund of Funds A
Foreign − Equity – General	SIM Global Best Ideas Feeder Fund A
Foreign − Fixed Interest – Bond	Coris Capital International Bond Fund A
Worldwide − Asset Allocation − Flexible	Flagship Worldwide IP Flexible Fund of Funds
FSB-approved offshore funds
Europe − Equity − General	Franklin European Growth Fund
Far East − Equity − General	Templeton Asian Growth Fund
USA − Equity − General	Franklin US Opportunities Fund
Global − Asset Allocation	Ashburton Replica Euro Asset Management Fund
Global − Fixed Interest − Bond	Investec GSF Global Bond Fund A Acc
Global − Equity − General	Sanlam Global Best Ideas Fund
UK − Fixed Interest − Bond	Russell Sterling Bond Fund
Japan − Equity − General	Orbis SICAV Japan Equity Fund (Yen Class)
UK − Equity − General	Lloyds TSB Offshore UK Fund
Global − Fixed Interest − Other Income	Orbis Optimal SA Fund (Euro Class)

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