HEAD-TO-HEAD: Eastspring vs MFS Meridian

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Manager review

Olsen was appointed manager of the Eastspring fund in July 2014 after 15 years at Danske Capital. He has developed a robust and repeatable process during his career and brought a well-formed investment philosophy to his fund, according to Caquineau. He also recruited two senior colleagues from Danske, and is able to draw on M&G’s global research resources.

“However, Olsen is very important to the success of the fund; if he were to leave that would be a major negative for its prospects,” said Caquineau.

The harmful effect on sentiment might be mitigated by the retention of Olsen’s right-hand man Mike Oliveros – one of the hires from Danske, he added.

The MFS Meridian European Research Fund takes a team approach, with analysts entirely responsible for building the portfolio and decisions reached by majority vote at regular meetings chaired by Gabrielle Gourgey.

The 10-member research team is led by Christopher Jennings, with Gourgey providing risk oversight and cash flow facilitation, but not involved in stock selection.

“In contrast to Eastspring, there is no key-man risk for the MFS Meridian fund,” said Caquineau.

The manager hires and trains skillful analysts who either bring or acquire in-depth experience and understanding. Risk is controlled through the decision-making by peer assessment and challenge, Caquineau said.

However, the firm tends to promote its analysts to become portfolio managers, so there is natural turnover. For instance, in 2016 a banking analyst was elevated to a portfolio manager role, but wasn’t replaced on a permanent basis for several months leading to transition risk, Caquineau added.

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