An FE fundinfo Company
Our research team constantly monitor a global fund universe, collecting relevant and current data and meeting with fund managers over 750 times a year to create a list of high conviction, high quality investment products. Employing a thorough, rigorous and multi-dimensional research process enables us to do so in a comprehensive manner, ensuring advisers have access to a best-of-breed list for consideration. The process also enables us to identify new products that might be lesser known than mainstream names, offering advisers an unbiased and continually refreshed list of investment opportunities. Within our fund universe are unlisted managed funds, ETFs and LICs.
Our research process is fundamentally forward-looking and relies on both qualitative and quantitative input from analysts. The methodology is divided into two key steps:
Sector universe and preliminary screening:
- We maintain proprietary in-house data on investment products which form the basis of our investment universe. The data is collected from fund managers and product issuers each month and forms the basis of our quantitative analysis process.
- Screening is undertaken on a sector basis so funds are typically categorised along asset class and regional lines. This process filters out sub-investment grade products so that we only invite quality products into the research phase. Relevant peer groups in our coverage universe are available here.
- Once a product has been confirmed as passing the preliminary screening process, the product issuer is invited to participate in the formal review process. Once our Research Agreement is executed, product issuers are contractually committed to the research process and will be issued a Research Rating regardless of the ultimate outcome. Once a rating is issued it will remain available for viewing on the Zenith Mosaic website until it’s updated, replaced or withdrawn.
Full due diligence review and ratings: this involves a formal face-to-face meeting with the investment management team and other key management personnel, which typically takes several hours and examines all aspects of the product’s objectives, structure and operation. It’s at this stage where we probe deeply to understand all the nuances of the investment manager, from its overall philosophy and process to the quality, experience and track record of the investment team. We also undertake a thorough review of all investment documentation (not including advertising and promotional material), and take an in-depth look ‘under the covers’ of the investment portfolio and management systems.