The Schroder International Multi-Cap Value Fund (IMCV) is the winner of the 2012 Lipper Award for Best Fund in its category over a five-year period. IMCV has outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI EAFE Index, by +4.21% per annum since launch in 2006.
This marks the second consecutive year that IMCV has won the Lipper Award in the International Multi-Cap Value Funds category. Lipper honored IMCV last year for its three-year performance.
Both the Investor Shares and Advisor Shares of IMCV have earned Lipper’s highest ratings for Total Return and Consistent Return, relative to the fund’s peers, for three and five years, as of February 29, 2012. Both are ranked as “Lipper Leaders” for the three- and five-year periods.
IMCV takes a unique approach to international equity investing. The fund is managed using a bottom-up, benchmark-unconstrained approach, with the fund’s portfolio invested more than 70% away from the MSCI EAFE Index. IMCV’s holdings are highly diversified across countries, industry sectors and market capitalization, with approximately 800 stocks as at the end of February 2012. This broad diversification is a major point of differentiation from IMCV’s peers, which are highly concentrated, and helps lower risk by minimizing the negative effects on fund performance of any single holding.
“Investors and their financial advisors increasingly understand the advantages of investing in a fund that is broadly diversified,” said Carter Sims, Head of Intermediary Distribution at Schroders. “The result is that we’re seeing increased demand from advisors who are seeking all-cap type mutual funds as well as from investment platforms that want to make these funds available to meet that demand.”
“We try to avoid the constraints other cap-weighted managers impose upon themselves in the way they run their portfolios,” said Stephen Kwa, Senior Client Portfolio Manager at Schroders. “In the long run, constraints cost performance. We employ a proven and consistent stock-selection process that incorporates a holistic approach to risk management. That process has evolved over time and has enabled us to navigate through many of the key issues in the equity markets over the last four to five years.”
About Schroder Investment Management North America Inc.
Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. is a unit of Schroders plc (SDR.L), a global asset management company with approximately $283.9 billion under management as of September 30, 2011.
Schroder’s clients include major financial institutions including banks and insurance companies, as well as local and public authorities, public and private pension funds, endowments and foundations, intermediaries and advisors, as well as high net worth individuals and retail investors. The firm has built one of the largest networks of offices of any dedicated asset management company with more than 340 portfolio managers and analysts covering the world’s investment markets, offering a comprehensive range of products and services.
