A month since announcing its partnership with international investment powerhouse Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited (MSIM), South African fund manager Ashburton Investments is celebrating the second milestone in the historic deal. Morgan Stanley is now the new sub-investment manager of the Ashburton Global Leaders Equity Fund - the cherry on top of the fund’s 10-year birthday cake and already strong performance track record.

“The Global Leaders Equity Fund is the best way for investors to start accessing MSIM’s incredible global capabilities. MSIM’s role as sub-investment manager was operationalised on 3 October. This is an important next step in the partnership process and will be welcome news to all those who submitted queries about how they could access the new offshore investment capabilities of our combined Ashburton and MSIM teams,” said investment manager Kathy Davey.

The partnership enhances the international capabilities for Ashburton’s clients, who benefit from MSIM’s research and portfolio management experience in global equity markets.

10 years of great global returns

“We’re very happy with the Ashburton Global Leaders Equity Fund’s performance to-date and believe it can only go from strength to strength with the might of Morgan Stanley behind us,” says Davey.

Key performance indicators (USD):

• Year to Date: 13.28%
• 1 Year: 21.30%
• 3 Years: 6.19%
• 5 Years: 8.71%
• 10 Years: 7.67%
• Since launch: 7.48% per annum
• Fund size: $186.64 million

The Ashburton Global Leaders Equity Fund’s performance against other global large-cap blend equity funds

The Ashburton Global Leaders Equity Fund’s performance against its peers in the institutional class

“The fund was launched on 2 September 2013, so we have just passed its 10-year track record. The fund sits at a size of $186.64 million, and is a concentrated equity strategy that offers a differentiated approach to investing in global stocks. Essentially, the fund’s strong numbers and Morgan Stanley coming on board as the best sub-investment manager we could have hoped for, is a lovely birthday present to the fund,” says Davey.

Explaining some more features of the fund, she says it is domiciled in Luxembourg while providing returns on a US dollar basis, it is denominated in a range of currencies, and it is specifically for institutional investors who can start on a minimum investment of *$100,000 or currency equivalent, and have the patience for a long-term investment horizon. The fund fits into the Global Large-Cap blend equity peer group and is designed for investors wishing to participate in the capital markets. The average growth rate of the fund over 10 years is 6.64% on the retail investor side and 7.67% on the institutional investment side.

“The fund was designed with the potential to earn high quality risk-adjusted returns from a concentrated portfolio of the world’s large cap companies, household names and industry leaders, providing investors peace of mind. Its concentrated equity strategy offers a differentiated approach to investing in global stocks. We generate attractive returns by investing in high-quality businesses, characterised by powerful intangible assets, high returns on operating capital employed and strong free cash flow generation. To help achieve this objective, the strategy employs a “buy-and-hold” approach to construct a concentrated portfolio, with stock selection informed by rigorous fundamental analysis.”

FOOTNOTE:

*or a minimum investment of $10,000 or currency equivalent for retail investors