The celebration of the Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv in Vienna was held on March 11 in the prestigious Park Hyatt Hotel, which is located in the historic former headquarters of Bank Austria. The awards ceremony in Austria was the second event in the German-speaking markets (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) and was visited by 110 participants from the Austrian and international fund industries.
Johann (Hansi) Leikert, Refinitiv, Sales Director CEE/CIS at Refinitiv, and Sznezana Jovic, Managing Director at 4profit Verlag GmbH, welcomed the guests, while Detlef Glow, Head of Lipper EMEA Research at Refinitiv, was presenting the Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv.
Snezana Jovic, 4profit Verlag
Our guests seemed to engage in interesting conversations with their peers while they networked and enjoyed drinks and food after the awards ceremony. The event was covered in the print magazine Geld Magazin, published by our event media partner 4profit Verlag GmbH (Click here to see all pictures from the event in Vienna).
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 winners of the Lipper Fund Awards for Austria.
The best mutual funds in Austria
The Lipper Fund Awards ceremony in Vienna honored the 20 single funds from the largest peer groups in the Austrian fund universe by assets under management. In addition, there were 67 funds that won an award for the three-year period, although they didn’t receive a trophy on stage. Also, 83 funds were recognized with a Lipper Fund Award over the five-year period, and 62 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 Austria).
Equity Austria
Allianz Invest Austria Plus A won the Lipper Fund Award for the Equity Germany category over the three-year period, while 3 Banken Oesterreich-Fonds RA won for the five- and ten-year periods.
The best asset management groups in Austria
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 Lord, Abbett & Co., which outperformed 27 competitors in this category. The best large bond fund manager was Ashmore, which beat 56 competitors in its category.
MEAG outperformed its 65 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 64 competitors in terms of consistent outperformance.
There were 32 large asset managers and 43 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 German asset manager Flossbach von Storch.
Snezana Jovic, 4profit Verlag; Renate Mittmannsgruber, Kepler
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 26 large groups and 17 small groups competing for the prestigious trophy. The Austrian asset manager Kepler won the award for the best small fund management group, while the US asset manager MFS was named the best large fund management group.
Snezana Jovic, 4profit Verlag; Teo Gianinazzi, MFS
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 Lipper Fund Awards trophy for Austria gathered on the stage.
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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.
