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March 20, 2019

Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv 2019–A Special Night in Frankfurt

by Detlef Glow.

The Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv in Frankfurt held on March 13 was once again an industry landmark event. The awards ceremony in Germany was the last event in the German-speaking markets (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) and was visited by 174 participants from the German and international fund industry.

The celebration of the eighteenth Lipper Fund Awards for Germany took place in the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, which is one of the most prominent hotels in Frankfurt, located directly in the center of the city.

Carl-Johan von Uexkull, Refinitiv

Sustainable Investing was the Theme of the Event

Carl-Johan von Uexkull, Market Head Germany & Switzerland at Refinitiv, and Isabelle Haegewald, Managing Director at Mein Geld Medien GmbH, welcomed the guests, while Detlef Glow, Head of Lipper EMEA Research at Refinitiv, was the moderator of the evening.

Isabelle Haegewald, Mein Geld Medien GmbH

Dr. Julia Backmann, BVI

In addition, there were two keynote speakers who gave their presentations before we celebrated the single and the group awards, respectively. The first keynote speech was given by Dr. Julia Backmann, Vice President at BVI, the association of German fund and asset managers, who spoke about the possible impact on the asset management industry—from a regulatory standpoint—if new guidelines were adopted from the EU action plan financing sustainable growth.

Prof. Dr. Carlo Jaeger, Global Climate Forum

The second keynote was given by Prof. Dr. Carlo Jaeger, Chairman of the Global Climate Forum, who spoke about “real” measures for sustainability right before the group awards were handed over to the winners.

Both speeches were well-received by the participants and led to several discussions after the end of the awards ceremony.

Our guests seemed to engage in interesting conversations while networking with their peers as they enjoyed drinks and food after the awards ceremony. (Click here to see all pictures from the event in Frankfurt). The event was covered not only in the print magazine and on the webpage of Mein Geld, Lipper’s awards media partner in Germany, but also in a number of interviews with award winners conducted by Mein Geld TV and Finanzplaner TV (Click here to see the event video, an interview with Carl-Johan von Uexkull, an interview with Detlef Glow).

Different methodologies lead to different results

Contrary to what a number of market observers would expect, the Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv are not based on return numbers only. The winners of a Lipper Fund Award aren’t determined by looking at the funds with the highest returns over the respective awards periods. In actuality, the Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv are based on the Lipper Leader rating for Consistent Return. These ratings are calculated using a utility function based on the effective return over multiple non-overlapping periods—within the respective three-, five-, and ten-year horizons. The calculations over multiple periods ensure all periods in which a fund underperforms the average of its peer group are identified. Then, Lipper uses a utility function based on behavioral finance theory to penalize the periods of underperformance against the peer group average, with more significant weightings being given to excess negative returns.

From an investor point of view, the calculation methodology ensures the winners of the Lipper Fund Awards are funds that have provided relatively superior consistency and risk-adjusted returns compared to a group of similar funds. Therefore, funds that receive a Lipper Fund Award may be the best fit for investors who value a fund’s year-to-year consistency relative to other funds in a particular peer group.

Detlef Glow, Head of Lipper EMEA Research at Refinitiv presented the Lipper Fund Award winners for Germany 2019.

The best mutual funds in Germany

The Lipper Fund Awards ceremony in Frankfurt honored 20 single funds from the largest peer groups in the German fund universe by assets under management. In addition, there were 84 funds that won an award for the three-year period, although they didn’t receive a trophy on stage. Also, 97 funds were recognized with a Lipper Fund Award over the five-year period, and 71 funds won the prestigious trophy for the ten-year period. (Click here to see a list of all winners of a Lipper Fund Award from Refinitiv in Germany).

Equity Germany

S4A Pure Equity Germany won the Lipper Fund Award for the Equity Germany category over the three-year period, while DWS Aktien Strategie Deutschland LC won for the five- and ten-year periods.

Equity Germany Small- and Mid-Cap

DWB Alpha Star Aktien A was named the Lipper Fund Award winner for Equity Germany Small- and Mid-Cap over the three-year period, while Lupus alpha Smaller German Champions A won the award for the five- and ten-year periods.

The best asset management groups in Germany

The group awards are divided into those for large and small management groups, based on a regional assets-under-management split. It is not enough for a fund management company to hold just one large fund. A large management group must have at least five equity, five bond, and three mixed-asset portfolios, while a small group must have at least three equity, three bond, and three mixed-asset portfolios.

Within the bond segment, the best small asset manager was Evli, which outperformed 50 competitors in its category. The best large bond fund manager was Ashmore, which beat 67 competitors in its category.

Sycomore Asset Management outperformed its 95 opponents and was named the best small asset manager in the equity segment. Russell Investments won the trophy as the best large asset manager of equity funds, beating 72 competitors in terms of consistent outperformance.

There were 46 large asset managers and 74 small asset managers competing for the Lipper Fund Awards in the mixed-asset segment. While the German firm StarCapital won the trophy for the best small manager, the award for the best large manager went to the Swiss asset manager Swisscanto.

Carl-Johan von Uexkull, Refinitiv; Bernhard Schmitt, Liechtensteinische Landesbank Group, Isabelle Haegewald, Mein Geld Medien GmbH

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the overall awards. The winning groups were able to show an above-average risk-adjusted performance within their bond, equity, and mixed-asset products. In this category, there were 38 large groups and 23 small groups competing for the prestigious trophy. The Liechtenstein-based asset manager Liechtensteinische Landesbank won the award for the best small fund management group, while the US asset manager MFS was named the best large fund management group (Click here to read the official press release).

Carl-Johan von Uexkul, Refinitiv; Markus Hampel, MFS; Isabelle Haegewald, Mein Geld Medien GmbH

As one can see from the number of fund management groups in the single categories, the Lipper Fund Awards are exceedingly competitive and recognize the fund managers that are setting benchmarks within the industry. The Awards commemorate the expertise of the collective fund management industry and the individual funds’ ability to outperform the market.

All winners of a Lipper Fund Award for Germany gathered together on the stage.

Lipper delivers data on more than 265,000 collective investments in 61 countries. Find out more.

Disclaimer: 
This material is provided for as market commentary and for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment research or advice. Refinitiv cannot be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information provided in this publication or from any other source mentioned. Please consult with a qualified professional for financial advice. 

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