Mawer International Equity Fund

Analysis: Until recently, this fund was known as the Mawer World Investment Fund. To be honest, we always had a bit of an issue with the name as it implied that it had a true global mandate, when in reality, the fund was always non North American in its focus. That is why we were happy to see the name changed to the Mawer International Equity Fund, which we believe to be considerably more appropriate.

Despite our issues with the fund’s previous name, it has always been a fund that we have held in high regard. Managed in the Mawer growth at a reasonable price approach, they look for wealth creating companies that are trading at discounts to their estimate of intrinsic value. A typical company will have excellent management teams, improving business fundamentals and a history of generating high returns on equity.

Like other Mawer funds, this one is well diversified, typically holding between 50 and 60 names. It is relatively conservatively positioned, with the top ten holdings making up about 30% of the fund. They tend to be long term, patient investors, and portfolio turnover tends to be relatively low.

Performance has consistently been in the upper half of the category, with the notable exception being 2003 when it’s 9.7% gain placed it well behind other international equity funds. Volatility has been in line with the index and the category average, resulting in very strong risk adjusted returns.

The cost of the fund is reasonable, with an MER of 1.57%. Because this is a no load fund, that number does not include any advisor compensation.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to this fund is that it has a $5,000 minimum, which puts it out of reach for many smaller investors. But for those investors who can meet that minimum, this is a great way to get non North American equity exposure. It offers a high quality management team, a proven process, reasonable cost and a great track record.