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!
BlackRock European Dynamic FD
A large and mid-cap Europe (ex UK) equity fund targeting a high level of outperformance.
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281.10p
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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298.40p
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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5.00% 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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0.92%
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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0.00%
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 capital growth through investment in large and mid-cap continental European equities. Manager Giles Rothbarth aims to outperform in all market conditions, and to this end employs a flexible approach. He builds the portfolio around a core of high quality stocks he believes can provide growth over the long-term. However, around this he will rotate the portfolio into different types of companies depending on his shorter-term view of the market.
Fund summary
| Sector | Europe Excluding UK |
| Structure | UNIT TRUST |
| Launched | November, 2013 |
| Size | £5,857m |
| Yield | 0.00% |
| Charging basis | Income |
| Dividends paid | 30 Apr |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 5.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.19% |
| Annual management charge | 0.75% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.92% |
Allocation
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Investment process
The investment universe is large and mid-cap European equities, though some UK and US stocks may also feature. Stocks are allocated into four sectors: Consumer, Financial, Healthcare and Industrial. Each sector is covered by a “research pod” led by a senior fund manager/analyst on BlackRock’s European equity team. Ideas are sourced from screens on valuation metrics and earnings momentum, from sector analysts and from factor and thematic trends. The analyst team then carry out fundamental research on each stock, giving them ratings from 1-5 based on risk-adjusted conviction and a target price. The portfolio managers then determines whether recommended stocks are suitable for their portfolios. Rothbarth typically has a core portfolio of high quality stocks, in defensible industries, that he believes will be able to grow above the level implied in their share price. However, around this he rotates the portfolio depending on his shorter-term view of markets. As a result, portfolio turnover is typically high, particularly when there is a “regime change” in economic growth. Rothbarth describes his approach as flexible and will invest in both growth and value stocks, though through most of his tenure the portfolio has displayed a bias to growth and to quality.
Longstanding manager Alister Hibbert stepped down from this fund at the end of 2020 but has a high calibre replacement in Giles Rothbarth, one of the top young fund managers in the City of London. Rothbarth has spent his entire career at BlackRock, and having worked with Hibbert on this fund since 2015 he shares many of his qualities. He benefits from the continued presence of Hibbert on BlackRock’s European team, which also includes the same analysts and managers who helped drive the fund’s past success.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 0.00%
- 17/18 0.00%
- 18/19 0.00%
- 19/20 0.00%
- 20/21 0.00%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 0.35%
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 0.00%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Giles Rothbarth
Rothbarth graduated with an MA (Hons) degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from Oxford University in 2010. He joined BlackRock the same year and is now a CFA charterholder, Director and portfolio manager in the European Equity team within the Fundamental Equity division of BlackRock’s Active Equity Group. He is responsible for European Financials and has joint responsibilities on Continental Europe ex UK portfolios across the team. Prior to his current role, he worked with the UK Specialist Team with responsibility for the utilities and the oil & gas sectors.
Track record
The track record of Giles Rothbarth in managing mutual funds in this sector is still too short for us to draw any meaningful conclusions and so our assessment is based largely on qualitative aspects.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -4.00% (December 2020 - January 2021) |
| Relative | -3.00% (December 2020 - March 2021) |
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
Proportion (%)
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 31 July 2020
| 5.267% | Lvmh Moet Hennessy Vuitton Se |
| 4.9413% | Asml Holding Nv |
| 4.8027% | Lonza Group Ag |
| 4.2963% | Sika Ag |
| 4.1133% | Dsv Panalpina As |
| 4.0695% | Sap Se |
| 3.8832% | Novo-Nordisk As |
| 3.4552% | Volvo(Ab) |
| 2.9285% | Safran Sa |
| 2.8583% | Worldline |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Industrials | 26.00% |
| Technology | 20.00% |
| Health Care | 15.00% |
| Financials | 12.00% |
| Consumer Goods | 12.00% |
| Consumer Services | 6.00% |
| Utilities | 3.00% |
| Basic Materials | 3.00% |
| Money Market | 2.00% |
| Oil & Gas | 1.00% |
Portfolio
35-65 stocks.
Constraints
Tracking error is typically managed within a range of 4-10%. Max 5% UK stocks. Max 15% non-index stocks. Max 10% cash.