HEAD-TO-HEAD: Blackrock versus Fidelity

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Barbara Claus, Morningstar

Introduction

Investors have been withdrawing money from mixed-asset funds, with year-to-date net outflows amounting to $2.54bn globally, according to data from Morningstar.

Equity funds have seen larger outflows of around $67bn.

Where is the capital going? It seems that investors have been shifting into fixed income products, which saw net inflows of $304bn during the same period.

This is especially true in Asia markets. For example, in Hong Kong, fixed income funds accounted for 66.1% of total gross funds sales in the SAR as of the end of April, according to data from the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association. On the flipside, gross sales for both equity and mixed-asset funds have declined.

Investors in Taiwan have also flocked to fixed income funds this year and withdrew from mixed-asset and alternative products, according to data from Morningstar Direct.

However, a number of multi-asset products have seen inflows from investors, especially those that provide regular income, according to Barbara Claus, Frankfurt-based senior manager research analyst for fund research at Morningstar.

“There is demand, especially in Asia, for multi-asset income products because they provide investors with regular income,” she told FSA.

Against this backdrop, FSA asked Claus to compare two global multi-asset income products: the BGF Global Multi-Asset Income Fund and the Fidelity Global Multi Asset Income Fund.

Both products have continued to grow, according to Claus. This year, assets of both funds have reached $8bn each from $7bn at the beginning of the year, according to data from FE Analytics.

Source: Morningstar Direct, FE Analytics

*15 July 2016 – 17 July 2019

**16 July 2016 – 12 July 2019

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