Sasfin Wealth launches global equity fund

According to Sasfin’s Head of Wealth, Michael Sassoon, it is critical for investors to adopt a global perspective across their investment portfolios.

“Global should be seen as the framework and not as an asset class within a local portfolio,” he adds.

Domiciled in Luxembourg, the fund will be co-managed by Bruce Ackerman, formerly Chief Investment Officer at Lloyd’s Bank’s investment arm in London, and formerly the Co-manager of the highly performance-acclaimed Foord International Trust, and Bradley Mitchell, who heads up Sasfin Wealth’s research team that is responsible for investment strategy, equity analysis and equity portfolio construction.

According to Mitchell, the fund managers aim to provide investors the opportunity to invest alongside them, in a carefully selected and adequately diversified portfolio consisting of some of the world’s highest quality companies.

“The fund’s investment objective is to generate a superior risk-adjusted total return, in US dollars, over a long-term investment horizon, relative to the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All Country World Index (ACWI),” Mitchell says.

The fund aims to achieve its investment objective by holding 20 to 30 global companies that are exposed to a more diversified set of higher economic growth regions than what is available on any one exchange. This helps ensure that, while still maintaining optimal diversification, the fund does not compromise on quality and valuation, to strive towards achieving a superior risk-adjusted total return.

Mitchell emphasises the benefits for investors in the fund in having Bruce Ackerman on board as co-fund manager. Ackerman is a seasoned fund manager who has experienced many market cycles, and has managed several large international equity funds.

“Bruce has a proven track record in managing institutional money, globally. His wealth of experience will greatly benefit the longer-term strategic direction of the fund, as well as inform each investment decision made,” says Mitchell.

One of the advantages that the fund enjoys, relative to other newly launched global equity funds, is a 30-month track record, based on a documented simulation which the fund managers have actively managed since December 2014. Over this period, the fund’s effective total return in US dollars, after fees, has comfortably been ahead of its benchmark. Sassoon says that the establishment of a global equity fund made strategic sense for the business, whose clients are always looking out for offshore opportunities.

“For several years, we have been cognisant of the sluggish performance of the All-Share index. The local market is obviously limited, and we want to continuously provide global investment opportunities to our clients across a range of asset classes,” Sassoon says.

“Whether our clients want to send their children to offshore universities, acquire assets offshore, or simply want to broaden their existing portfolio into a global one, our priority is to ensure they can access any stock or instrument to assist in building global wealth,” he adds.

Sasfin Wealth chose Luxembourg to domicile the fund primarily for its reputable regulatory environment together with the strong distribution administrative framework and the country’s renowned distribution expertise and support.