Katy shares a bit more about the Sarasin Global Higher Dividend fund.
Our clients will know that we include somewhere between 12-14 funds within their portfolios.
We thought it might be nice to focus on one of the funds that are currently enjoying better times.
If you hold a mainstream portfolio, this fund may sound familiar. This global equity fund invests into a portfolio of 35-50 good quality stocks. The investment strategy is to provide a premium level of income that increases over time, combined with long-term capital growth.
We have held this fund for over three years and it is currently used within all of our ‘mainstream’ benchmark models.
Performance:
More notably, the fund has managed to hold onto positive gains in the last 12 months in a world of extreme market volatility.
Performance*: 1 year +1.09%, 3 year +19.13%, 5 year +34.16%.
Why this works within the portfolios:
The Sarasin Global Higher Dividend fund approaches investing in the same cautious way as UK Equity Income funds – but with a Global remit. This means that it is a good diversifier within your portfolio, but it also will exhibit lower volatility than a traditional Global fund.
We really saw this come into play at the beginning of 2022 when global markets began to deal with Russia/ Ukraine tensions and spiralling inflation started hitting the headlines.
At that time, this was one of the only funds within our benchmarks that managed to ‘apply the brakes’. This was because the fund invests traditionally in high dividend ‘value’ stocks, therefore helping it to actually manage modest gains over the period.
Why we like this fund house:
Sarasin’s core investment strategy has an integrated Environmental Social Governance (ESG) screening criteria. Sarasin have historically focused on ensuring that ‘good stewardship’ is fully embedded in portfolio construction as this actually helps with risk management. They are vocal investors within the companies that they hold, voting in favour of actions that will serve the holdings future sustainability.
Although not all of Sarasin’s funds pass our rigorous fund screening process for our ethical benchmarks, their fundamental approach to all investments is underpinned by sustainability. This is because they believe that investment has the power to grow and protect wealth in a way that benefits society and that responsible companies make better investments. This is something we really agree with.
This article is not a recommendation to buy any one fund – it is intended for education and sharing purposes with our existing invested clients. If you have any questions in regards to this article – please don’t hesitate to contact us.
*According to figures provided by Financial Express at 13th October 2022
