Continuing its winning streak, Sanlam Investment Management (SIM) Global has scooped the Morningstar award for its Sanlam Global Financial Fund. The fund, which is managed by Kokkie Kooyman, was recognised for its three year performance to 31 December in
Morningstar is a leading provider of independent investment research and provides data on approximately 330,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds and similar vehicles. The Morningstar South Africa Awards recognise the very best fund managers across the different sectors for their excellent stewardship of fund shareholder capital over the long term.
Speaking after the announcement of the award, Kooyman expressed excitement at being selected. “We are thrilled to have been acknowledged by Morningstar for this honour. Our fund’s performance could not have been delivered without a talented and dedicated team and therefore recognition for this commitment is a significant achievement for us.”
The award comes after one of SIM Global’s other funds, the SIM Global Best Ideas Feeder Fund, was awarded Best Foreign Equity Fund over a three year period at the Raging Bull Awards, and Kooyman himself was chosen as UK publication, Investment Week’s Global Fund Manager of the Year (Category: Financials) for the past two years running.
The Sanlam Global Financial Fund invests in companies that consistently generate a high return on their capital and are incorrectly valued by the market. The team pay particular attention to the company’s management track record in terms of both ethical and rational behaviour. These qualitative and quantitative aspects are then scored and the companies with the highest scores are then targeted for further research and consequently investment.
Kooyman attributes the fund’s accomplishment over the longer term to the team’s ability to find smaller companies that were unaffected by the global turmoil. “The team has successfully identified mispriced ‘gems’ all over the world and this sets the fund apart,” says Kooyman. “2008 and 2011 were incredibly difficult years while hopefully won’t be repeated for another 70 years! However, the companies we were invested in during 2008 reported very good results the following year and rebounded strongly, generating excellent returns in 2009 and 2010.”
According to Kooyman, experience, a small team, its ability to find opportunities globally, as well as being located in Cape Town away from the ‘noise’, has essentially put the fund ahead of its competitors. “There is always an element of randomness in the market so we cannot allow an award such as this make us overconfident,” says Kooyman. “However, it does show us that our process works over the long term and it’s a great feeling knowing that the industry recognises this.”
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