AXA Wealth is marking a decade of success as the Elite fund of funds range celebrates its 10th birthday.
Launched in 1999 with three funds: Winterthur Elite Cautious Managed, Winterthur Elite Balanced Managed and Winterthur Elite Stockmarket Managed, the Elite range was launched in response to recognition amongst advisers that outsourcing investment management to an expert could offer many benefits to clients.
Now the range has been extended to 12 funds. The three original Elite funds – Elite Balanced Managed, Elite Cautious Managed and Elite Stockmarket Managed -have outperformed their respective sectors, on a cumulative basis over the 10 year period, since launch. Furthermore, the Cautious and Balanced Funds have achieved cumulative first quartile performance since 1999.
Part of the Elite range’s appeal is its diversity; each Managed fund has a different risk profile and the Elite Sector Funds offer the opportunity to invest in a variety of markets and countries. The Elite funds (excluding the most cautious Elite Funds) aim to outperform their respective sectors through well-diversified, carefully managed, risk-aware portfolios
In volatile economic conditions where investors may wish to limit their exposure to the stockmarket, or for clients nearing retirement searching for a more cautious approach to equity investment, funds in the range such as the Extra Cautious and Extra Defensive Funds may provide an appealing investment option.
The Elite funds are constructed by determining a complementary mix of funds. Constituent funds are selected based on investment style, size bias and existing holdings, and the strengths of each fund manager.
All investment decisions affecting the Elite funds are published in a ‘fund selection history’ document**. AXA Wealth believes that making the Elite range’s track record easily accessible helps to reassure investors about the way funds are being managed.
David Thompson, managing director of investments and distribution AXA Wealth, says:“The success of the Elite range lies in some part in the fact that it continues to be managed in the same way since launch, aiming to avoid risk, disclosing investment decisions and evolving to meet investors’ needs over the long term. Whilst the industry has seen many changes over the last decade, the Elite funds have remained consistently successful.”
