Citywire Ratings: Asia’s outstanding talent revealed

Market snapshot

We are now tracking 1,982 fund managers running 2,623 funds, of which 1,198 have the necessary performance history required to be eligible for a rating.

Highest New Entrant: Alister Hibbert, BlackRock

Rating

AAA-rated in Bahrain

Overview

Euro Stars AA-rated manager Alister Hibbert of BlackRock tops the new entrants this month with a AAA-rating in Bahrain.

According to the most recent available data, Hibbert’s BGF Continental European Flexible A2 EUR fund focuses on consumer discretionary stocks (19.8%), industrials (19.3%) and financials (16%), which, when combined, make up more than 50% of his investments.

His top holdings consisted of pharma giant Novo-Nordisk (6.8%), luxury brands company Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A (5.3%) and tyre producer Continental AG (4.0%).

During Hibbert's three-year tenure, the BGF Continental European Flexible A2 EUR fund has returned 49.65% in Bahrain Dinar terms, while its Citywire benchmark, the FTSE AW Europe ex UK TR index, rose 21.5% during the same time frame.

Local Leader: Mihir Worah, PIMCO

Rating

AA-rated in Singapore

Overview

A manager shining in Singapore’s market this month is Mihir Worah of PIMCO, who aims to maximise real return and provide protection against inflation.

He is recognised for his strong, risk-adjusted performance across two inflation-focused funds, the PIMCO GIS Global Real Return Inst USD Acc and the PIMCO GIS Global Advantage Real Rtn I USD Acc.

On an absolute basis, Worah has seen strong total returns from both his funds, with the PIMCO GIS Global Advantage Real Rtn I USD Acc fund returning 12.3% over the past three years, while the fund’s Citywire benchmark, the Barclays World Govt Inflation Link TR USDH, rose against 9.6%.

However, the PIMCO GIS Global Advantage Real Rtn I USD Acc fund, which has enormously outperformed the Citigroup WGBI TR USD index during the same time frame, became the uppermost contributor to his AA rating.

Rising Star: Rukhshad Shroff, JP Morgan

Rating

AA-rated in Bahrain

Overview

JP Morgan’s Indian equity expert Rukhshad Shroff has stepped up a notch from A to AA rated in February, which is the move up the ratings since he was first rated by us in Bahrain in August 2012.

Shroff is currently running three funds, the JF India Smaller Companies Fund, the JF India Fund and the JF India A Dis USD.

Despite being hit by his positions in the technology and telecoms sectors, Shroff’s overall risk-adjusted performance on the small-cap fund has successfully secured him a ratings boost.

This improvement can mainly be attributed to his stance on materials and consumer discretionary sectors at the end of January, both of which performed well.

Group Ratings

In the group standings, Fidelity sits top with 15 rated managers. BlackRock and JP Morgan are joint second with 13 rated managers each. There are also two firms tied for third, with Schroders and Threadneedle both boasting 10 rated managers.