Sanlam shows breadth of skill at Raging Bulls

Sanlam walked away with two certificates and one Raging Bull Award at the 23rd annual Raging Bull Awards Ceremony held at the CTICC in Cape Town last night. This prestigious event honours the star managers in the South African unit trust industry, measured on their long-term performance.

Certificates for asset-specific funds are based on straight performance, calculated by Profile Data for the three-year period to end 2018. The winners for straight performance were the Sanlam Investment Management (SIM) Enhanced Yield Fund and the Sanlam Global Property Fund. It was a repeat victory for both these funds.

For risk-adjusted performance over the five years to end 2018, the Sanlam Multi Managed Conservative Fund of Funds scooped the much coveted Raging Bull Award for Best SA Multi Asset Equity Fund, outperforming all other multi-asset funds across the low, medium and high equity categories on a risk-adjusted basis.

Consistency is the name of the game

‘What makes the win of the SIM Enhanced Yield so exceptional is the consistency with which it remains at the top,’ Nersan Naidoo, CEO of Sanlam Investments, says. It’s been named the best SA Interest-Bearing Short-Term Fund at four of the past five years’ Raging Bull Awards ceremonies, receiving the honour of being first in its category for the three years to the end of 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. The SIM Enhanced Yield Fund is actively managed by Melville du Plessis.

Naidoo says the track record of the fund demonstrates its ability to outperform during increasing and decreasing interest rate cycles, as well as in favourable and unfavourable credit market environments. This fixed interest fund invests in cash, government, corporate and inflation-linked bonds, looking to offer investors a better return than that of a money market fund over 12 months or longer.

Offshore expertise pays off

For the second year in a row the Sanlam Global Property Fund scooped the certificate for the Best FSCA-approved Offshore Global Real Estate General Fund. Naidoo says the fund follows an active fundamental research driven investment approach through a combination of quantitative and qualitative insights to identify opportunities. It is managed by AllianceBernstein Investment Management.

Another global property fund, the Catalyst Global Real Estate Prescient Feeder Fund, won a certificate for Best SA-Domiciled Global Real Estate Fund based on risk-adjusted performance. Sanlam Investment Holdings owns a 69% stake in Catalyst Fund Managers.

Protecting clients’ capital

The Raging Bull Award winner on the basis of its risk-adjusted performance is the Sanlam Multi Managed Conservative Fund of Funds. It is managed by Paul Wilson and the Sanlam Investments Multi Manager team, and aims to protect capital and provide stable growth at low levels of risk. ‘All multi-asset funds across the low, medium and high equity categories were considered for this award. In other words, the fund came first across the three industry categories in which the bulk of the retail industry’s retirement money is invested – a phenomenal achievement,’ Naidoo says. ‘Our win showcases both our multi manager skill in selecting the right blend of managers across Sanlam and third-party funds, and our ability to protect clients’ capital in volatile times.’

Naidoo adds, ‘The outperformance is mainly as a result of the fund’s ability to protect against adverse market conditions such as the ones we experienced in 2018. The approximately 60% exposure to flexible income strategies throughout 2018 was a key component in protecting against downside events and keeping volatility low.’

The stand-out performance from the Sanlam Multi Managed Conservative Fund of Funds mainly came from the smaller managers that form part of the Sanlam Select boutique manager initiative. Within the flexible income component of the fund the top performer was Terebinth, while Prescient also performed well. Within the low equity space, Truffle was a top performer throughout 2018, while Matrix was also a top quartile performer.

Related Article: Sanlam on top of the interest game