fund
This is one of our rated funds. They’re the ones our experts believe will do well for investors over the longer term. Top of the class!
Barings Europe Select I GBP
A diverse portfolio of mid and small-cap European (ex UK) equities.
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5248.00p
Price (Inc)
These are the shares in the fund that pay out an income to clients. The income is made up of the total dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – from the companies in the fund.
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Price (Acc)
These are the shares in the fund that don’t pay out an income to clients. Any dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – are reinvested into companies in the fund. Despite no income, the shares should be worth more over time. Good incentive, eh?
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0.00%
Initial chargeSome funds charge you when you first invest, which is aptly known as the initial charge. They’re usually between 3-5% but at Bestinvest, we usually don’t charge you a penny!
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0.75%
Annual management charge
This is how much the fund management company charges to run the fund. It’s like paying a babysitter, dog sitter or house sitter (that makes well-informed, heavily researched changes to improve your baby/dog/house when needed).
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0.80%
Ongoing charges
This stands for Ongoing Charges Figure. It’s the cost of running a fund and includes admin fees, manager fees, administration costs, etc.
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0.60%
Yield
How much the fund is currently paying out in income to investors. It’s NOT to be confused with the overall growth of a fund – a very different thing indeed. It’s also NOT a guarantee of future pay-outs, just a snapshot. This is more what it’s not than what it is…
The fund targets long-term capital growth by investing in a portfolio of continental European small and mid-cap companies. Manager Nicholas Williams and his team seek to do this in a relatively low risk way, and to this end focus on quality companies, have a large number of stocks (around 100) and a higher weighting to mid-cap companies than many peers. They have a GARP style (Growth At a Reasonable Price) which focuses on identifying companies with superior growth characteristics which are not fully reflected in the share price.
Fund summary
| Sector | European Smaller Companies |
| Structure | UNIT TRUST |
| Launched | August, 2012 |
| Size | £1,326m |
| Yield | 0.60% |
| Charging basis | Income |
| Dividends paid | 30 Apr, 31 Oct |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 0.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 0.75% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.80% |
Allocation
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Investment process
Barings' investment style as a group is quality GARP. The company believes that long-term earnings growth drives stock market performance, and that favouring quality companies gives the best chance of finding unrecognised growth. The fund’s investable universe is continental European companies with a market value of less than €5bn – this amounts to around 5,000 companies. Ideas are sourced from company meetings, quantitative screens, and from other teams at Barings. Companies are researched and scored on a scale of 1-5 based on: - Quality. Well-established business franchises, competent management aligned with shareholders, and strong balance sheets - Growth. Net earnings growth over the last three years, the next 12 months and the next five years. - Valuation. Calculated using next 12 months' PE, a static valuation based on PB, and a proprietary valuation based on five years earnings. The manager constructs the portfolio from the analysts' highest rated ideas (those scoring 1 or 2), focusing on those with a catalyst for outperformance over the next 9-12 months, with a 40% target upside. Williams likes to run a circa 100 stock portfolio – this allows him to maintain liquidity so he can move quickly, and means no one stock’s return can dominate performance. Price targets and stop losses are set for each stock and reviewed when reached.
Nicholas Williams has worked in the investment industry for more than 30 years, including a long and successful stint running European small-cap funds. As well as beating the index fairly consistently his defensive performance profile, which includes typically lower volatility than the benchmark and a degree of protection from falling markets, shows that his risk-averse approach is paying off. Given the large number of stocks it is key that he has adequate resources, and he benefits from the input of three co-managers and a dedicated analyst and also sources ideas from other Barings teams. This backup and Williams' experience give us confidence that the fund's success can be maintained.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -0.09%
- 17/18 -0.55%
- 18/19 0.00%
- 19/20 0.00%
- 20/21 0.00%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 0.15%
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 93.30%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Nicholas Williams
Williams is head of Baring Asset Management’s Small Cap Equity team and co-manager of the Europe Select Trust, the European Opportunities Fund and the International Small Cap strategy. He joined Barings in 2004 as a Divisional Director, having previously worked for eleven years at Singer & Friedlander where he was Head of the European desk and was a member of the Investment Policy Committee. During his tenure at Singer & Friedlander, he ran institutional and retail European funds across the capitalisation range. Williams has a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Williams works with co-managers Colin Riddles and Rosemary Simmonds, both of whom joined Barings in 2010.
Track record
Nicholas Williams has 10.1 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.15%. During the worst period of relative performance (from September 2002 - July 2003) there was a decline of 11% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 50%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is 93%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -50.00% (August 2000 - February 2003) |
| Relative | -11.00% (September 2002 - July 2003) |
About the MRI
Our unique indicator: the Bestinvest Manager Record Index (MRI) measures the likelihood that the fund manager is adding value through their decisions. It is based on their performance record over the course of their career, adjusted for the amount of risk taken. MRI is an important contributor to our fund rating system but it is also vital to take account of qualitative factors. It is also very important to select funds to form a cohesive portfolio with an appropriate overall risk level.
Allocation
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 30 April 2020
| 2.12% | Royal Vopak |
| 2.02% | Diasorin S.p.a. |
| 2.02% | Sig Combibloc |
| 2.01% | Elisa Oyj Ord |
| 1.99% | Imcd Nv |
| 1.99% | Valmet Corp |
| 1.97% | Tryg As |
| 1.95% | Asm International Nv |
| 1.91% | Euronext Brussels Sa |
| 1.91% | Teleperformance |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Financials | 21.00% |
| Business Services | 18.00% |
| Consumer Goods | 17.00% |
| Industrials | 16.00% |
| Technology | 10.00% |
| Basic Materials | 9.00% |
| Money Market | 6.00% |
| Retail | 3.00% |
| Resources | 1.00% |
Portfolio
80-110 stocks with position sizes between 0.5% and 3%. Position sizing based on a combination of conviction and liquidity.
Constraints
Maximum position size 3%. VP 12.00.
Key Investor Information