Interactive Investor

Rated Funds update: Specialist, property and commodities

27th August 2014 11:02

Andrew Pitts from interactive investor

Specialist: Two new winners

Our specialist Rated Funds cover a wide range of investment areas from healthcare to hedge funds.

There are two new additions to the list. Both are winning investment trusts from this year's annual awards.

One is Biotech Growth Trust, which won our prestigious best large trust award; the other is our private equity trust winner, HarbourVest Global Private Equity investment trust.

Biotech Growth is managed by New York-based OrbiMed Advisers.

Its managers, Richard Klemm and Geoffrey Huw, seek to identify the most innovative and promising biotechnology companies.

HarbourVest Global Private Equity is a large diversified private equity fund of funds that was on our 2013 Rated Funds list.

The portfolio has holdings in around 6,500 companies. Its mature portfolio and low gearing are attractive.

Its aim of gaining a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange is also a plus.

Property: Deservedly popular

Property funds have become increasingly popular over the past year, as prospects for this asset class have improved with the recovery in economic growth.

Our five Rated Funds have risen by an average of 6% over the past six months, with TR Property investment trust up more than 15% over this period. Many property investment trusts are on high premiums.

There is one new addition - our winning smaller fund, HSBC Open Global Property. Our large fund winner, Henderson UK Property, is already on the list. The HSBC fund is unusual in that it is a fund of funds.

Its manager, Guy Morrell, argues that the advantage of the fund-of-funds approach is that a high level of international diversification can be achieved.

Commodities: Political play

As global growth recovers, demand for commodities will pick up again. Energy prices are influenced by political unrest in producer regions.

As a result, Investec Global Energy has enjoyed a strong six months and is up 11%. Baring Global Agriculture, on the other hand, is only marginally ahead of where it was six months ago.