The FSA Spy market buzz – 11 April 2025
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HEAD-TO-HEAD: Axa IM versus T Rowe Price
FSA compares two global equity funds: The Axa Framlington Global Technology Fund and the T Rowe Price Global Technology Equity Fund.
The Axa and T Rowe Price funds versus the MSCI ACWI Technology Index.
PERFORMANCE
Given that both funds invest in the technology sector, they are expected to do well in growth markets, according to McDermott.
Discreet annual performance
| Fund / index / sector | YTD 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Axa IM fund | 35.01 | 39.15 | 0.78 | 42.14 | 2016 |
| T Rowe Price fund | 44.77 | 31.85 | -10.92 | 46.01 | 7.73 |
| MSCI ACWI Information Technology | 30.56 | 47.52 | -5.47 | 42.27 | 4.91 |
Source: FE Fundinfo. In US dollars.
He noted that in theory, the Axa fund may not fare well in a market sell-off because of its investments in small-cap companies.
“But the thematic stock-picking approach taken by the fund manager means that he has been able to avoid significant losses at these times,” he said. For example, when the technology index was down in 2018, the fund still produced positive returns during the year, FE Fundinfo data shows.
Longer-term, the Axa fund has performed better than the T Rowe offering on a three- and five-year cumulative basis, according to FE Fundinfo.
| Fund / benchmark | 3 years | 5 years |
| Axa IM fund | 111.40% | 214.10% |
| T Rowe Price fund | 83.80% | 198.44% |
| MSCI ACWI IT Index | 102.46% | 212.21% |
Source: FE Fundinfo. In US dollars.
In terms of volatility, both offerings are slightly more volatile than the index, according to FE Fundinfo.
Three-year annualized volatility
| Fund / Index | Volatility |
| Axa IM | 23.01 |
| T Rowe Price | 22.96 |
| MSCI ACWI IT Index | 21.93 |
Source: FE Fundinfo
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