Square Mile announces three new fund ratings

Square Mile Investment Consulting and Research today confirms three new fund ratings, with two new entrants to the list of recommended funds and one rating upgrade.

• The Invesco Perpetual Global Financial Capital fund has been upgraded to an AA rating from Positive Prospect.

• The Henderson Multi Manager Income & Growth fund has entered Square Mile's Academy of Funds with an A rating.

• The L&G UK Property fund also joins the Academy of Funds with an R (Recommended) rating.

Square Mile's recommended funds, which sit within the Academy of Funds, carry a rating, A, AA, AAA, R or P+, as a reflection of the level of conviction Square Mile's team of analysts has in a fund's ability to deliver on expectations. Square Mile's independent, qualitative research is designed to offer advisers a solid foundation for client investment propositions and recommendations.

Victoria Hasler, Square Mile's Head of Research, said, "The Invesco Perpetual Global Financial Capital fund was introduced into the Academy of Funds last July. At the time it was felt that this was a relatively new venture for the team, a more specialist mandate and had a higher limit on equity exposure than other funds which they managed and we thus awarded the fund a Positive Prospect rating. The fund now has more than three years' track record and we feel entirely comfortable both with the specialist nature of the mandate and the equity skills of the managers. In reality, the latter is not much of an extension of what they were already doing in looking at subordinated bonds, and the trio have proved themselves more than capable of running the specialist mandate. Given their impressive track record and the strong ability which we believe the managers have demonstrated to look across all parts of the capital structure, we are happy to upgrade this fund to an AA rating.

Alex Farlow, Head of Risk Based Solutions Research, said of the Henderson Multi Manager Income & Growth fund, "In our opinion this fund is a robust proposition for investors seeking capital accumulation from a balanced multi asset investment approach. It has been run using the same process and with the same manager at the helm for over 10 years. Over this period it has provided investors with strong returns in line with its performance objective and risk aspirations. It is actively managed by a strong and experienced team with substantial depth and breadth of resource. The team is headed by the highly experienced Bill McQuaker and Paul O'Connor who have overseen a period of stabilisation, following a number of acquisitions made by the group. The pair bring a strong fundamental macroeconomic approach which is based on understanding the key risks and main drivers of markets. The team also benefits from being part of a large investment management business and is able to tap into the wider group's resources.

Commenting on the L&G UK Property fund, John Monaghan, Senior Investment Research Analyst at Square Mile said, "This fund benefits from two experienced co-managers assisted by a well-resourced team dedicated to the management of UK commercial property. The fund's asset levels ensure it is sufficiently diversified and it has sizeable exposure to prime and high quality secondary properties. The managers and supporting team place considerable emphasis on key considerations for this asset class, ensuring a sufficient level of liquidity and the generation and incremental growth of income. We believe this is a suitable offering for investors seeking to access the UK commercial property market.