Citywire Ratings: Iberia’s newly-rated elite revealed

Market Snapshot

A total of 245 fund managers now hold a Citywire rating in the Iberia region, which consists of Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar.

This is an increase from our previous January data and is made up of 156 A-rated managers, 55 AAs and 34 managers who have achieved the coveted AAA rating for their risk-adjusted performance.

Highest Overall: Rick Rieder, Blackrock

Rating

A-rated in Spain, A-rated in Portugal, A-rated in Gibraltar

Overview

One of the best performing of the newly-rated managers on a risk-adjusted basis this month is Blackrock’s Rick Rieder, lead manager on the BGF US Dollar Core Bond A2 fund.

His performance has led him to an A rating across all three countries in the Iberian region. Rieder has been managing this fund since August 2010, and has achieved a Citywire rating at the first point at which he became eligible.

As the name suggests, the fund is invested primarily in US securities. Unlike the benchmark however, Rieder has opted to invest a small proportion in Europe, as well as favouring bonds with a lower credit rating.

The fund’s benchmark, the Barclays US Aggregate Bond TR index, rose 19.92% over the past three years, while the fund managed a healthy 22.66%.

Comeback Star: Gillian Kwek, Fidelity

Rating

AA-rated in Spain, A-rated in Portugal

Overview

This month’s Iberian comeback star is Fidelity’s Gillian Kwek, who has returned from the unrated wilderness to retake her Citywire rating. This is her first appearance in the Iberian ratings since December 2010.

Kwek is the lead fund manager on the firm’s equity-based Fidelity Funds - ASEAN A-USD and has held this position since April 2008. The fund has returned 64.04% over the past three years, compared to its Citywire benchmark, the FTSE World Asia Pacific ex Japan TR USD index, which rose 43.05%.

The fund is registered for sale in Spain and Portugal and holds mostly Asian equities. Its largest holdings are in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, in contrast to the fund’s benchmark which has a heavier weighting to Australasia.

Rising Star: Stephen Thornber

Rating

AA-rated in Spain, AA-rated in Portugal

Overview

Threadneedle’s Stephen Thornber is February’s rising star in this region having boosted his Citywire rating from A to AA for the first time. Thornber has managed the Threadneedle Global Equity Income Ret Net Acc GBP fund since 1 June 2007 and has been rated in the region since October 2012.

The fund currently has an overweight to the Asia Pacific ex Japan region, and also, on a sector basis, has a slight overweight to telecoms.

The fund’s largest holdings are with US alternatives investors Blackstone Group (2.2%), pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc (2.1%) and banking firm HSBC Holdings (2.0%).

Over the past three years the fund has consistently beaten its Citywire benchmark, the FTSE World TR GBP, and has returned 49.49%, compared to the benchmark, which rose 38.06% over the same period.

Group Ratings

This month sees a tie for first place in the number of rated managers by fund groups. Both Blackrock and JP Morgan have 13 managers rated in the region. Fidelity, last month’s leader, is second with 12, while Threadneedle has 11 rated managers.