Legg Mason Brandywine Global Fund tops the ratings in NZ

Friday, February 1st 2019, 2:59PM

Research house FundSource has given its highest rating to the Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Fund which was only launched in March last year.

“To receive a ‘AAA’ rating so soon after launch speaks volumes for the quality of the Brandywine Global investment team and process. It also justifies our decision to launch the Fund in the wake of the keen interest shown by New Zealand clients in having a local PIE structure,” Legg Mason Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Andy Sowerby, said:

Director of Sales, Colin Taylor, added: “We are deeply committed to the New Zealand market investing significant resources to continue to expand. To get this top rating from FundSource is an enormous fillip for the team and further underpins our business development plans.”

FundSource says the fund “had performed strongly against the peer sector funds and is attracting keen support in the market despite its short history”.

It also says there is an absence of global fixed interest funds in the New Zealand market.

The fund, which has a top down macro-focussed strategy, primarily invests in government securities in eight to 16 developing countries and up to six emerging markets, although when the economic environment is favourable and the market signals value, it can invest in corporate debt and mortgage-backed securities.

“While the Fund’s mandate is broad, the investment team is relatively conservative, viewing risk as a permanent loss of capital. As such, the Fund will have a minimum average portfolio rating of A-. This assists in managing portfolio risk that is driven by the macro-focussed process.

Here is the FundSource report.

[Download it here]

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