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!
LF Morant Wright Nippon Yield B
Japanese equity income fund with a multi-cap approach.
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346.53p
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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468.08p
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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1.00%
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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1.18%
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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3.00%
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 aims to provide long-term income growth whilst preserving and growing its capital value though investment in a multi-cap portfolio of Japanese equities. Morant Wright is a dedicated Japanese fund management house with a strong value bias. The managers focus on identifying companies with strong balance sheets and/or business franchises that are trading at a discount to their assets and, as a result, the fund is generally quite defensively positioned.
Fund summary
| Sector | Japan |
| Structure | OEIC |
| Launched | August, 2010 |
| Size | £288m |
| Yield | 3.00% |
| Charging basis | Capital |
| Dividends paid | Apr, Dec |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 5.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 1.00% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 1.18% |
Allocation
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Investment process
The team focus on Japanese companies which are well capitalised with strong balance sheets, and are trading at a discount to intrinsic value. Intrinsic value is normally defined as a discount to book (or asset value). The managers screen for companies that are cheap on this metric as well as searching for companies with low debt to equity and high interest cover. Their investible universe typically consists of 300 companies, which are followed closely as valuations change over time. Their valuation sensitivity means that they will avoid certain sectors which can be a headwind to performance at times. Their ultimate objective is to identify companies that offer the potential for significant growth over the long term. The fund does not carry an explicit yield guarantee but since launch it has comfortably exceeded the benchmark TOPIX index and has typically grown over time.
Morant Wright is a London-based boutique, established in 1999 and specialising in Japanese equities. Founders Ian Morant and Stephen Wright are very experienced managers with a consistent and long track record, and have built up a strong team around them. The team place a high importance on capital preservation and the fund tends to perform well in difficult stock market conditions, though it will typically lag strongly rising markets. The team are not constrained to the typical large companies, instead they explore further down the market capitalisation spectrum to find good investment opportunities.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 0.66%
- 17/18 0.06%
- 18/19 -0.36%
- 19/20 -0.69%
- 20/21 -0.23%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years -0.42%
- 5 years -0.11%
- Career 0.37%
- 3 years 14.50%
- 5 years 48.00%
- Career 99.40%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Morant Wright Team
Stephen Morant jointly founded Morant Wright in 1999. Previously he was a partner at Cazenove & Co and was responsible for Japanese equities having joined them in 1978. Prior to this he worked as an accountant in both industry and private practice. Ian Wright jointly founded Morant Wright in 1999. Previously he was at F&C from 1981 and was head of their Japan Desk from 1993 to 1999. Prior to this he worked at Clerical Medical where he qualified as an Associate of the Institute of Actuaries, and at Buckmaster & Moore managing institutional funds. Richard Phillips joined in 2001. Previously he worked at Schroders, National Provident Institution and F&C. Andrew Millward joined in 2009. He investment career began at Henderson Global Investors in 1997 and he moved to their Japanese equity team in 2000. Denis Clough joined in 2010 from Schroders and managed Schroder Tokyo from 1985 for 19 years. Tom Mermagen joined in 2004 from Schroders where he was Head of Japanese Equity Research in Toyko.
Track record
Morant Wright Team has 21.7 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.37%. During the worst period of relative performance (from September 1999 - March 2000) there was a decline of 27% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 29%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is more than 99%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -29.00% (March 2006 - July 2008) |
| Relative | -27.00% (September 1999 - March 2000) |
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 October 2019
| 3.08% | Sumitomo Electric Industries |
| 3.02% | Toyota Industries Corp |
| 2.94% | Toda Corp |
| 2.92% | Honda Motor Co |
| 2.89% | Canon Marketing Japan |
| 2.83% | Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group |
| 2.82% | Sumitomo Mitsui Tr Hldgs Inc |
| 2.76% | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc |
| 2.71% | Tokio Marine Hldgs Inc |
| 2.7% | Tokai Rika Co |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Building & Construction | 21.00% |
| Transport Equipment | 18.00% |
| Banks | 12.00% |
| Basic Materials | 9.00% |
| Financials | 9.00% |
| Trade | 8.00% |
| Machinery | 6.00% |
| Other Metals | 5.00% |
| Others | 5.00% |
| Electronic & Electrical Equipment | 3.00% |
Portfolio
50-70 stock portfolio.
Constraints
Typically holdings are limited to 3% in a portfolio and no more than 1% of a company's free float