Views on 2 Clerical Medical Funds?

Mortgage_&_debt_free

Hi all

I have recently started investing in CM Adventurous Managed and European Funds and would appreciate any comment on these funds in particualr or CM in general.

Cheers

ReportInvestor

Clerical Medical European was an excellent performer 5-10 years ago.

In the last year and the last 3 years it has been a bottom quartile performer.

You did ask. Please don't shoot the messenger .

Mortgage_&_debt_free

Wouldn't dream of shooting you, you've given good comment in the past so you're worth sparing!

Do you know if the drop off coincided with a manager change?

Anyway, I think I might persist for a little while as it's 10% of my AVC fund, so I can probably take a risk both in the sector & the fund.
There's 15% in CM Adventurous Managed Fund & 75% in Standard Life Balanced Managed Fund.

Any comment on this allocation?

Cheers

dunstonh

Any comment on this allocation?

Bog standard managed funds dont appeal to me at all. A jack of all trades and master of none is the usual outcome with these. I prefer to build the asset allocation using proper funds. Virtually every time it results in much better performance.

Mortgage_&_debt_free

I remember a while ago someone posted a link to a good asset allocat tool, although it was in dollars.

Is there a similar UK version or if not do you know where the US tool was located?

Cheers

ReportInvestor

There's no UK version [of an asset allocation calculator] AFAIK. I think the FSA are to blame for that.
Link to CNN asset allocator
Smart Money asset allocator
Forbes asset allocator

The Clerical Medical European Performance Pension Fund seems to have done slightly better against its peers than its unit trust couterpart.

Assuming it's this one on TrustNet
It does take heavy positions in some stocks and has a finance stock bias.

Still bottom quartile for the last year to 1 September (but not too bad with 17% v 20% average) and 3rd quartile for 3 years (67% v 69% average).

Here's the CM Adventurous Managed
It looks like any extra risk hasn't resulted in a performance to write home about.

Mortgage_&_debt_free

Thanks for the feedback, I'll have a look at the allocators.

I actually have an enviable "problem". I am a member of the LGPS FS Pension scheme & have been looking over the past few years to build up an AVC fund. I have recently adjusted this to;

Standard Life Balanced Managed (Lifestyle) 75%
CM Adventurous Managed 15%
CM European 10%

However, I am wary about eggs in the one basket, particularly considering the climate over public sector pensions, etc. To mitigate some of this I started an equity ISA to build up a fund I can use if I want to retire a couple of years before they want me to! I have allocated;

Fid SS - 25%
Fid Global SS - 25%
Artemis European Growth - 25%
Invesco Perpetual Income - 25%

What has suprised me is the difference in charges between the two vehicles; LGPS AVCs - SL=0.6%, CM 0.5%
S&S ISAs (Via Hargreaves) - between 1.14%-1.69%

I realise it's 'cos of the discount LGPS gets through volume. I think it's worth paying the extra charges on the ISA to have access to funds when I want them, but I don't know whether to stick with the CM funds in the AVC as they don't seem to be particularly good performers, although when you factor in the extra charges I would pay outside the AVC this may make the actual net gain more attractive.

I also have £16k in cash ISAs & a SL endowment, min payout £24500

Any comments?

EdInvestor

I note that CM offers a couple of the external funds you have in your ISA. ( IP Income and Fid SS). You may like to see if they are on offer for your AVC and then move that money out of the CM funds and into the external ones. Then you could choose different performance funds for your ISA.

https://www.citywire.co.uk/Funds/Home.aspx rates quality funds.

Here's the asset allocation calculator I've posted in the past.

The main difference between the US and the UK is that they don't have "bricks and mortar" commercial property funds like ours (which fall into the same category as bonds,risk wise). Their property is in the form of REITs, which fall into the equities (shares) category.