Written: 17 November 2022

Author: Kirsty O'Hara

2 min read

Flint investors may have good reason to celebrate today, with five out of ten fund managers on Flint winning awards at the prestigious 2022 Research IP Fund Manager of the Year Awards.

This year’s trophy winners include: Devon, Fisher, Harbour, Milford, and last but definitely not least: Smartshares (the manager of all SuperLife PIE funds on Flint).

Smartshares (SuperLife): Fund Manager of the Year

Smartshares (manager of all SuperLife funds) had what could only be described as a grand sweep.

This year they took home the Longevity and Fund Manager of the Year awards; along with additional wins in the Global Equities Fund of the Year and the Australian Equities Fund of the Year categories.

The Longevity Award highlights a strong return over the longer term. Research IP selected the Smartshares US 500 fund (which you can buy on Flint through the SuperLife US 500 Fund) as this year’s Longevity winner, which has been awarded for delivering results to investors over the longer term.

Research IP commented that “Smartshares has shown passive investing has a place in portfolios. For financial advisers and investors, you need to be in the right place to capture that performance”.

Over the last 6 years, Smartshares have consistently been shortlisted and won in several category awards – proving they are a consistent player in the managed funds sector.

Harbour: Responsible Investment Manager of the Year

The Responsible Investment category continues to highlight the progress funds management is making as New Zealand becomes the first country to take the plunge into mandatory Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting, helping to lead the charge on decarbonisation by 2050.

TCFD is new, and governments and regulators are upping the ante. With this in mind, Research IP believes it is increasingly important to capture additional information outside typical datasets. That has led to developing the RIPPL Effect Reports, where multiple aspects of fees and responsible investing characteristics are captured.

Research IP commented that “the differences between fund managers are narrow, but Harbour Asset Management showed how non-financial factors can be relevant to investing, taking out the Responsible Investment award for 2022”.

As well as winning Responsible Investment Manager of the Year, Harbour also carried the trophy home for Australasian Fixed Interest Fund of the Year.

Devon: Australasian Equities Fund of the Year

The Devon Alpha Fund’s approach to investing is to utilise an active approach – with a focus on research and analysis. The Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of approximately 10-15 select companies listed on the New Zealand and Australian share markets and aims to generate capital growth over the long term by actively investing in a concentrated portfolio of New Zealand and Australian equities.

If you want to learn more about Devon, and the funds they have on Flint, we’ve written about them here.

Milford Asset Management: Adviser Choice – Equities Winner

As a recognised leader in the New Zealand fund manager space, it’s no surprise that Milford took out the Adviser Choice award for the Equities sector.

Milford Asset Management is one of the most prominent names in wealth management in New Zealand. They are a majority Kiwi-owned company with employees in the business who are also owners. The team have skin in the game as both owners and investors, showing a commitment to the business. Milford is a significant business with over $15 billion of funds under management and an impressive history including a track record of industry awards.

If you want to learn more about Milford, and the funds they have on Flint, we’ve written about them here.

Fisher Funds Management: Adviser Choice – Fixed Income Winner

As another prominent player in the New Zealand funds landscape, we were not surprised to see Fisher Funds Management take out the Adviser Choice for the Fixed Income category.

Fisher aim to “provide stable returns over the long term through access to a diverse range of fixed interest investments from around the world“.

You can read more about Fisher’s Fixed Income funds within the Flint app (click here).

Judging Methodology

The Research IP Fund Manager of the Year Awards are based on one-year returns and several additional factors to ensure the winners and funds shortlisted in each category were not “one-hit wonders”.

The Research IP judging starts with a whole of market approach across all investment styles including active, passive, and smart beta. This includes regional, country specific, and thematic investments. There is no prefiltering applied to restrict each asset class. Every shortlisted fund, finalist and winner is based on merit.

Darren Howlin, Research IP Managing Director, comments “Research IP is cognisant that investors may choose a fund because it is award winning but wants to acknowledge outstanding performance in the last 12 months. Through our rigorous process, we want to ensure the best managers are awarded each year”.

As always, we must remind you that while a trophy is a good sign of industry recognition – it’s always important to do your due diligence on any funds you are considering. You’ll find the PDS and RIPPL Effect reports on Flint will steer you in a good direction, to better understand the funds on Flint.

Final Congrats!

As well as congratulating all the winners, we want to point out that any competition is best when you win alongside great company. As well as Smartshares (SuperLife), Harbour Asset Management, Devon Funds Managements, Milford Asset Management, and Fisher Asst Management all taking home the big awards.

The above winners won alongside other reputable funds on Flint that were also acknowledged as finalists. Clarity, TAHITO, Nikko and Pathfinder were also in the running on this year’s shortlist – and are all worth consideration when browsing funds on Flint. To view the full list of funds on Flint that were selected as finalists you can view our recent article here.

Happy investing!

Flint

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:

All content shared is of a general nature, current to the time it was penned, and is not financial advice. Before making any investment decisions, please be sure you have completed full due diligence. This should include reading the product disclosure statement (PDS), considering fees and taxation, identifying your time horizons, and understanding the performance history and reputation of the investments you are considering.

Please note: When investing you are not guaranteed to make money (and on occasion you may lose some or all of the money you began with). Seek independent advice to establish if an investment is suitable for your financial situation and long-term wealth generation goals.