Square Mile has reintroduced the £978m Jupiter UK Dynamic Equity fund into its Academy of Funds with an ‘A’ rating, after Alex Savvides took charge of the strategy from Ben Whitmore last October.
The fund, previously known as Jupiter UK Special Situations, had its ‘AAA’ rating suspended in early 2024 on the news that Whitmore was leaving the firm to set up his own boutique.
Under Savvides, who joined from JO Hambro, the concentrated strategy aims to invest in undervalued UK large and medium-sized listed companies.
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Ratings removed
JP Morgan Asset Management’s Multi Asset Income fund has seen its A rating removed by Square Mile on performance concerns, with the fund lagging its peers in the IA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector over three and five years.
Meanwhile, the Premier Miton Multi-Asset Global Growth fund also lost its A rating. Despite the analysts’ conviction in Ian Rees and the wider team at Premier Miton, they have concerns over the fund’s medium-term track record, which they believe has resulted in a “meaningful loss of assets”.
The analysts also stripped the Ninety One UK Sustainable Equity fund of its ‘Responsible A’ rating after unitholders voted in favour of merging the strategy into the Ninety One Global Sustainable Equity fund.
Upgrades
In terms of upgrades, Fidelity Special Values investment trust and its sister fund Fidelity Special Situations have both been upgraded to AA from A by Square Mile.
“This recognises Alex Wright’s consistent and unwavering adherence to his contrarian, multi-cap investment style since taking over as the strategies’ lead manager in 2014 and 2012 respectively,” the analysts said. “Despite challenging market conditions for multi-cap portfolios, Wright has delivered strong performance across both strategies on an absolute and relative basis.”
In a multi-asset heavy update, the BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Balanced fund was bumped up to an AA rating while the Aviva Investors MAF Core range received a ‘Recommended’ rating.
See also: Square Mile reintroduces Jupiter UK Dynamic Equity fund into Academy ratings
Retained ratings
Following the announcement of Foresight Group’s acquisition of WHEB Asset Management, Square Mile has decided to maintain FP WHEB Sustainability Impact’s ‘Responsible AA’ rating.
After speaking to George Latham, managing partner of WHEB, the analysts said their initial view is that the acquisition will not materially affect the management process underlying the fund.
Square Mile has also decided to retain ratings on the Liontrust Special Situations, UK Smaller Companies, and UK Growth funds despite the retirement of portfolio manager Julian Fosh.
This story was written by our sister title, Portfolio Adviser
