Square Mile Investment Consulting & Research has added the Schroder European Alpha Income fund to its Academy of Funds, awarding it with a Positive Prospect Rating.

The Academy of Funds is a dedicated section within Square Mile's website, where advisers can access analysis on all recommended funds. Each fund carries a rating - A, AA, AAA, R or P+ - as a mark of quality and a reflection of the level of conviction Square Mile's team of analysts has in a fund's ability to deliver on expectations.

Commenting on the Schroder European Alpha Income fund, Amaya Assan, Senior Investment Research Analyst at Square Mile, said:

"We are pleased to introduce the Schroder European Alpha Income fund to our Academy of Funds. The key attraction here is the pragmatic investment approach underpinning the strategy. The manager, James Sym, looks to build a portfolio of typically 40 predominantly large and mid-cap stocks. Companies are considered in terms of their sensitivity to different phases of the economic and business cycle as well as other fundamental metrics. Therefore, whilst stock selection is expected to be the main driver of performance in the fund, performance can also come from the manager getting the business cycle positioning right.

Although it is still early days since the fund's launch in 2012 and the manager is relatively new at running money, we think the fund shows the potential to be a solid long-term offering. However, we would like some time to build a longer-term conviction in it. For this reason, we are awarding the fund with a Positive Prospect rating."