Bestinvest says
Formerly a Credit Suisse fund, this has been run since 2009 by Aberdeen's global equities team using the same process that has brought success to the Murray International investment trust. Like other Aberdeen funds this has a bias to quality stocks which, coupled with the yield requirement, should give it some defensive characteristics. This has a high degree of commonality with Aberdeen's regional funds so investors should exercise caution before holding them in the same portfolio.
The fund aims to provide income and capital appreciation for investors over the long term, by investing primarily in equity and equity related securities of companies worldwide which offer attractive yields and sustainable dividends. The portfolio is selected from a buylist of stocks held by Aberdeen's regional equity teams, so companies held will share the characteristics of other Aberdeen portfolios: straightforward businesses with quality management and strong balance sheets. This 330 strong buylist is compared across regions and sectors by Aberdeen's global team to find valuation anomalies. The team takes a five year view on stocks so portfolio turnover is typically low. Top-down factors are secondary and little regard is paid to the benchmark, with stock selection and diversification guiding geographical and sector weights. No currency hedging is undertaken, though the team take account of the currency positions of portfolio companies.