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March 20, 2019

Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv 2019–The 30th Anniversary

by Detlef Glow.

On February 6, around 170 participants from the Swiss and international fund industries celebrated the 30th annual Lipper Fund Awards for Switzerland, held in the Park Hyatt Hotel in Zurich. This awards event is every year the kick-off for Lipper’s global awards program. Since the event also marks the beginning of the annual Swiss awards season, it gets a lot of attention from the asset management industry.

Ana Ortega welcomes the participants of the 30th Lipper Fund Awards in Zurich. (REFINITIV/Moritz Hager)

The speakers at the event were Ana Ortega, Customer Success Manager Switzerland at Refinitiv, Otto Christian Kober, Lipper’s Global Head of Methodology, and Detlef Glow, Head of Lipper EMEA Research at Refinitiv. The speakers all provided market insights and much food for thought to the attendees.

Source: REFINITIV/Moritz Hager

Our guests seemed to enjoy interesting conversations with their peers while they enjoyed the networking with drinks and food after the awards ceremony. The event was sponsored by Fundplat, Lipper’s awards partner in Switzerland.

Source: REFINITIV/Moritz Hager

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 that 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 periods of underperfomance against the peer group average, with more significant weightings being given to excess negative returns.

Source: REFINITIV/Moritz Hager

From an investor point of view, the calculation methodology ensures that 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.

The best mutual funds in Switzerland

Otto C. Kober handed out single fund awards at the Lipper Fund Awards ceremony in Zurich. (REFINITIV/Moritz Hager)

The Lipper Fund Awards ceremony in Zurich honored 20 single funds from the largest peer groups in the Swiss fund universe by assets under management. In addition, there were 73 funds that won an award for the three-year period, although they didn’t receive a trophy on stage. Also, 84 funds were recognized with a Lipper Fund Award over the five-year period, and 59 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 Switzerland).

Equity Switzerland

PS CH-Swiss High Dividend-P CHF won the Lipper Fund Award for the Equity Switzerland category over the three- and five-year periods, while CS (CH) 130/30 Swiss Equity Fund B CHF won for the ten-year period.

Equity Switzerland Small- and Mid-Cap

SaraSelect P CHF was named the Lipper Fund Award winner for Equity Swiss Small- and Mid-Cap over the three-year period, while BGF Swiss Small & MidCap Opp A2 CHF won the award for the five- and ten-year periods.

 

The best asset management groups in Switzerland

Roger Ruesch handed out the group awards at the Lipper Fund Awards ceremony in Zurich. (REFINITIV/Moritz Hager)

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 once again Lord, Abbett & Co, which outperformed 32 competitors in this category. The best large bond fund manager was once again Ashmore, which beat 62 competitors in its category.

Sycomore Asset Management outperformed its 83 opponents and was named the best small asset manager in the equity segment. Credit Suisse Group won the trophy as the best large asset manager of equity funds, beating 68 competitors in terms of consistent outperformance.

There were 41 large asset managers and 37 small asset managers competing for the Lipper Fund Awards in the mixed-asset segment. While the German Flossbach von Storch won the trophy for the best small manager, the award for the best large manager went to the Swiss asset manager Luzerner Kantonalbank.

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 27 large groups and 9 small groups competing for the prestigious trophy. The Swiss asset manager Berner Kantonalbank won the award for the best small fund management group, while MFS was named the best large fund management group.

Detlef Glow was the moderator of the evening and held a presentation on European fund flow trends in 2018. (REFINITIV/Moritz Hager)

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.

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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