fund
BlackRock European Dynamic FD
A large and mid-cap Europe (ex UK) equity fund targeting a high level of outperformance.
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206.20p
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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218.90p
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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0.60%
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 capital growth through investment in large and mid-cap continental European equities. Managers Alister Hibbert and Giles Rothbarth aim to outperform in all market conditions, and to this end employ a flexible approach. They build the portfolio around a core of high quality stocks they believe can provide growth over the long-term. However, around this they will rotate the portfolio into different types of companies depending on their shorter-term view of the market. As a result stock turnover is high compared to the peer group.
Fund summary
| Sector | Europe Excluding UK |
| Structure | UNIT TRUST |
| Launched | November, 2013 |
| Size | £4,445m |
| Yield | 0.60% |
| Charging basis | Income |
| Dividends paid | 30 Apr |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 5.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.18% |
| 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 determine whether recommended stocks are suitable for their portfolios. Hibbert 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. Hibbert 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.
Having run this fund since 2008 Alister Hibbert has one of the longest track records in the sector, and also one of the best. His more active approach means results are dependent not just on stockpicking but his ability to call markets, but to date he has done this successfully. He protecting investors on the downside in 2008 then beat the market recovery in 2009, and has outperformed in most periods since. The fund was closed to new investors in 2013 but reopened (FD share class only) in August 2014. Giles Rothbarth was appointed co-manager in 2019 having worked on the fund since 2015.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 15/16 0.00%
- 16/17 0.00%
- 17/18 0.00%
- 18/19 0.00%
- 19/20 1.54%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.00%
- 5 years 0.00%
- Career 1.09%
- 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.
Alister Hibbert / Giles Rothbarth
Hibbert graduated with a BSc in Economics from Bristol University in 1992. He began his career in 1994 as an accountant at Ernst and Young, before joining GT Fund Managers (later acquired by Invesco Perpetual) in 1996. He worked as a European equity portfolio manager at Oechsle International from 2004-5 and then at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) from 2005-8. In 2008 he moved to BlackRock with many of his peers from SWIP. At BlackRock he is a managing director and portfolio manager on the European Equity team, as well as having analyst responsibilities on the financials sector. 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, 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 Alister Hibbert / 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 | -15.00% (January 2020 - March 2020) |
| Relative | -2.00% (June 2019 - September 2019) |
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 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. Typical holding period is one year, although the size of the holding is likely to vary.
Constraints
Tracking error is typically managed within a range of 4-10%. Max 5% UK stocks. Max 15% non-index stocks. Max 10% cash.