AND THE WINNER IS... PSG

After coming close a number of times, and magnificently rebounding after a couple of tough pre-Covid years, PSG Asset Management took the crown as Best South African Manager of the Year at the recent Raging Bull Awards. Martin Hesse was there.

AT the Raging Bull Awards gala dinner on Tuesday 28 February, PSG Asset Management emerged ahead of last year’s winner, Ninety One, to clinch the coveted title of South African Manager of the Year. The awards were for investment performance to the end of 2022.

The awards ceremony is hosted annually by Personal Finance in partnership with data providers ProfileData and PlexCrown Fund Ratings. The event was sponsored this year by the JSE, PSG and Mellville Douglas. It recognises top performance in the unit trust industry, which has grown exponentially since its launch in 1997.

After scaling down to a streamed video presentation for two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the event reverted to its lavish gala dinner format – a calendar highlight for the asset management industry – at Pigalle Restaurant in Green Point, Cape Town. The guest speaker for the evening was SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter.

The runners-up for the South African Manager of the Year were Ninety One in second place and H4 Collective Investments in third place (see detailed breakdowns below).

The award for Offshore Manager of the Year went to Credo, a London-based global investment management business with offices in South Africa, which markets three offshore funds to South African investors.

Eight Raging Bull Awards (trophies) and 30 Raging Bull Certificates went to individual funds in local and offshore categories for straight performance over three years to the end of 2022 and for risk-adjusted performance over five years.

The aim of the awards, apart from recognising outstanding achievement in the industry, is to guide investors to unit trust funds that deliver reliable, sustainable returns without undue risk, which is in line with the ongoing aim at Personal Finance: to provide readers with credible, jargon-free information on financial services and products to better manage their day-to-day financial affairs and grow their wealth.

‘Hugely prestigious’

After receiving the SA Manager of the Year Award, chief executive of PSG Asset management, Anet Ahern said: “We’re very excited, we think this is a hugely prestigious award. What makes it extra special for us is that we've seen some very challenging years in the markets and it has been a difficult environment in which to manage money, so it’s really gratifying to be recognised for our success during a difficult time. Also, the award requires a manager to have expertise across global, fixed-income, multi-asset and equity investments, so it's wonderful to be recognised for the work we've done to build those capabilities, and it's a whole team effort, so I'm very proud of the team and am pleased they can share in this recognition.”

On the advantage the award would give PSG, Ahern said: “I think it wouldn’t so much affect clients who have entrusted us with their funds already, but perhaps for people who need a little convincing that we have a broad-based and globally integrated set of capabilities, I think this would be a welcome nod. So for prospective clients, this would tell them we’re a firm with a good solid team and they can invest assets across the globe and across different asset classes.”

Ahern said investors needed to understand that an investment process predicated on long-term gains would sometimes disappoint in the short term. “When you’re an active manager, it means that from time to time you’re going to be too early [in buying or selling an asset] or you might even be wrong, and at those times, that is what defines you. We had a tough time going into Covid. We had a bad 2018 and 2019. But the important thing here is that we stuck to our process, we took the right decisions, and we had the backing of a team and a group. It’s hard to go it alone, and if you don’t have conviction in your process and your positions, the market will wack you from side to side. You have to be able to keep your head and make the right decisions, no matter what the circumstances.”

The Winning Managers

PSG Asset Management

PSG scored an excellent (weighted) average of 4.523 PlexCrowns across its nine qualifying funds. Five of these funds achieved five PlexCrowns: the PSG Global Flexible Feeder Fund, PSG Diversified Income Fund, PSG Income Fund, PSG Balanced Fund and PSG Stable Fund. Three funds received four PlexCrowns, and one achieved three PlexCrowns, which represents the average risk-adjusted performance for its peer group. The nine funds held a total of R35.6 billion in assets under management at the end of 2022, the three largest funds being the PSG Flexible Fund (R11.3bn), PSG Balanced Fund (R9.7bn) and PSG Equity Fund (R6bn).

Ninety One

Last year's winning manager scored significantly lower than PSG, with a weighted average of 3.734 PlexCrowns across its 18 qualifying funds. One fund, the Ninety One Global Strategic Managed Feeder Fund, scored five PlexCrowns; 10 funds scored four PlexCrowns, four scored three PlexCrowns, while three funds scored below the peer average of three PlexCrowns. Ninety One's 18 qualifying funds held a total of R226.9bn in assets at the end of 2022. The manager's three largest funds were the Ninety One Opportunity Fund (R60.8bn), Ninety One Managed Fund (R28.8bn) and the Ninety One Global Franchise Feeder Fund (R27.6bn).

H4 Collective Investments

H4 Collective Investments is the management company for the H4 and Citadel ranges of retail funds. It had 12 qualifying funds, which had a weighted average of 3.673 PlexCrowns. One fund, the H4 Diversified Fund, scored five PlexCrowns; five funds scored four PlexCrowns, another five scored three PlexCrowns, and one scored two PlexCrowns. The manager held R23.59bn in assets under management at the end of 2022. The three largest funds were the Citadel SA Bond H4 Fund (R4.2bn), H4 Diversified Fund (R4.1bn) and Citadel SA Income H4 Fund (R3.5bn).

Credo

The winning offshore manager had three qualifying funds: one of these (the UK-pound-denominated Credo Global Equity Fund) scored five PlexCrowns; the other two - a flexible multi-asset fund and a US-dollar-denominated equity fund - scored four PlexCrowns. Credo was closely followed in the offshore category by Allan Gray and