The FSA Spy market buzz – 13 December 2024
M&G’s positive outlook; Wisdom from Schroders’s podcast; Alliance Bernstein on the power of curiosity; Janus Henderson on responsible AI; China’s retirement revolution; Apple and much more.
Driven by strong economic growth, tax cuts and the technology sector, US equities have become the preferred equity asset class for a growing number of firms, including BMO Global Asset Management, Bank J Safra Sarasin and Blackrock.
Year-to-date the S&P 500 has returned 9.09%, beating the MSCI AC World Index (2.07%) and the MSCI Emerging Market Index (-10.19%), according to data from FE Analytics.
However, other investors may have concerns over the asset class as the rally in US equities has become the longest in US history, Lena Tsymbaluk, London-based analyst for manager research at Morningstar, told FSA.
The asset class has also become more expensive, driven by expensive valuations in growth companies, particularly in the technology sector, she added.
“That’s why we’re not big on US allocations ourselves,” she said, citing views from the firm’s investment management business, which provides asset allocation recommendations and model portfolios to clients.
Against this backdrop, FSA asked Morningstar’s Tsymbaluk to look at two US equity funds, the Fidelity America Fund and the Loomis Sayles US Growth Equity Fund.
Fidelity |
Loomis Sayles |
|
Size |
$4.8bn |
$1.9bn |
Inception |
October 1990 |
June 2016 |
Manager |
Angel Agudo |
Aziz Hamzaoguliari |
Cumulative return* |
18.11% |
34.16% |
Alpha YTD** |
-3.70 |
-2.62 |
Volatility YTD** |
17.63 |
17.97 |
Morningstar analyst rating |
Bronze |
Silver |
Morningstar star rating |
**** |
– |
FE Crown fund rating |
* |
– |
OCF |
1.05% |
1.00% |
M&G’s positive outlook; Wisdom from Schroders’s podcast; Alliance Bernstein on the power of curiosity; Janus Henderson on responsible AI; China’s retirement revolution; Apple and much more.
Part of the Mark Allen Group.