Several funds have appeared in the red flag list for the first time this year, including the Baring Emerging Markets fund, the only fund from the IA Global Emerging Markets sector. A spokesperson for Baring Asset Management insists the fund is seeing increased interest from investors, while Jean-Louis Scandella, who joined the firm in May 2014 as co-manager of its emerging markets portfolios, “implemented a number of enhancements to our research process and portfolio construction”. Barings also points to the fund’s first quartile performance over one and three years as “more representative of the current investment process”.
Andrew Harwood, manager of the CCM CFS Balanced Opportunities fund, a new red flag entrant, suggests underperformance has come from several underpriced investments. He adds: “I am optimistic that as some of [these] become more realistically priced, performance will once again impress.”
Ellie Duncan is deputy features editor at Investment Adviser
