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HEAD-TO-HEAD: Aberdeen Standard versus MFS IM

FSA compares two European equity products: the Aberdeen Standard Sicav II – European Smaller Companies Fund and the MFS European Smaller Companies Fund.
by Francis Nikolai Acosta

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The three-year cumulative performance of the Aberdeen Standard and MFS funds versus their benchmark indices (FTSE Developed European Small Cap index and the MSCI Europe Small Mid Index, respectively), and their peers. Source: FE Fundinfo.

PERFORMANCE

Both the Aberdeen Standard and MFS funds have performed strongly relative to their peers.

On a three-year cumulative basis, the Aberdeen Standard and MFS funds returned 35.51% and 21.95%, respectively, versus the 16.26% average performance of European small/mid-cap funds offered in Hong Kong, according to data from Morningstar Direct.

Looking at individual calendar years, McDermott observed that the Aberdeen Standard Fund participates more in market rallies, while the MFS fund can lag slightly when markets rise sharply.

“But the MFS fund tends to fall less in down markets because of its more diversified holdings,” he said.

Annual calendar performance (%)

Fund / index / sector YTD 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Aberdeen Standard European Smaller Companies 2.84 24.37 35.02 -18.13 37.15 -7.78
Index : FTSE Dev Europe Small Cap 6.99 9.39 29.21 -19.16 34.03 -2.83
MFS Meridian European Smaller Companies 1.5 9.06 29.24 -14.08 28.14 -3.5
Index : MSCI Europe Small Cap 6.71 14.43 29.65 -19.56 36.07 -1.68
Sector : HKM Equity Europe Small/Mid Cap 4.24 14.6 25.2 -20.72 35.37 -4.04
Source: FE Fundinfo.

In terms of volatility, McDermott expects the Aberdeen Standard fund to be more volatile than the MFS offering.

“It is more concentrated in a smaller number of holdings and its screening tools looks for stocks with certain characteristics, including momentum and growth, which can lead to the fund being more volatile at times,” he said.

Three-year annualized volatility

Fund / index / sector Volatility
Aberdeen Standard European Smaller Companies 24.51
Index : FTSE Dev Europe Small Cap 26.11
MFS Meridian European Smaller Companies 22.01
Index : MSCI Europe Small Cap 25.96
Sector : HKM Equity Europe Small/Mid Cap 23.91
Source: FE Fundinfo.

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