Dynamic Diversified Real Asset Fund
With its focus on real assets such as infrastructure, real estate and precious metals, it is not surprising to see that this was the best performing balanced fund in the first half of the year. It is set up like a fund of funds and invests in a mix of Dynamic’s offerings. It is actively managed, and at the end of March had more than three quarters invested in equities. Until recently it has...
Read MoreSentry Bond Plus
Launched in August 2012, this offering is managed by the highly respected James Dutkiewicz, who before joining Sentry was a key member of CI’s Signature Global Advisors team. The fund is focused on corporate bonds, and at the end of May held 70% in corporates, 13% in cash and the rest in government bonds. Credit quality is high, with 82% in investment grade bonds. The duration is lower than the...
Read MoreMiddlefield Groppe Tactical Energy Class
Given the run-up we saw in energy names in the first half of the year, it’s not surprising that an energy fund was one of the best performing funds of the first half of the year. This fund is managed by Robert Lauzon of Middlefield, and Henry Groppe of Texas based oil and gas consulting firm Groppe, Long & Littell. The basic premise of the fund is that global oil production has peaked,...
Read MoreTrimark Europlus Fund
Managed by the team of Michael Hatcher and Matt Pedan, this fund is managed in a near identical fashion to other Trimark branded offerings. The managers have built a concentrated portfolio of what they believe to be best in class companies that are based in Europe. Companies they look for are typically leaders in their respective fields, with high defendable barriers to entry, sustainable...
Read MoreMackenzie Ivy European Class
While the Dynamic offering above has a bit of juice to it, this Ivy offering is the opposite, providing exposure to a conservative, concentrated portfolio of high quality, European based companies. It is managed using the same fundamentally driven, bottom up process that is used with all Ivy branded funds. It looks to win over the long term by not losing as much. The outcome of the process is...
Read MoreDynamic European Value
If you have the stomach to handle fairly high levels of volatility, then this is one European equity fund you will want to take a look at. Managed by the team of Chuk Wong and Benjamin Zhan, this is a great fund to own when markets are rising. Coming out of the 2009 low, this was the top performer, a feat it repeated after the 2011 selloff in 2012, 2013, and so far this year. But be warned: when...
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