Investors Switch To Global Titans
Mercury Global Titans fund reaches £30m in first month
An American company tops a broad list of brands that British investors think will provide the best return on their investments, according to new research by Mercury Asset Management. Microsoft was the No. 1 choice from a given list with 22%, compared with 18% for BT. This demonstrates that when British investors are looking for investments with global exposure, they would now be happy to do this via big US multi-nationals, as well as the traditional route of UK companies with global coverage.
The findings also correlate with the first figures that Mercury released today on the success of its new Global Titans* Fund. Since its launch on 31 January 2000, Titans has grown to £37 million with significant ongoing demand. This makes Titans one of the most popular selling funds outside the technology sector in terms of sales.
At a time when investors are embracing a more global outlook toward their investment strategies, the new MORI survey, conducted on behalf of Mercury, presented investors with PAIRS of British and American companies, spanning a number of sectors, and asked them which company they thought would have produced the highest return on investment over the last five years.
Key findings:
Engineering: General Electric (67%) was seen to be a better investment choice than Rolls Royce (14%). The greatest support for General Electric came from male investors (75%), whereas the greatest support for Rolls Royce was voiced by the under 25 year old age group (25%).
Retail: American WAL-MART (72%) was a clear favourite for investors over Marks & Spencer (13%) - whose popularity dwindled to a mere six per cent for higher income earners . WAL-MART's popularity hit a high among 35-44 year olds (85%).
Banking & Finance: The jury was out on a clear cut decision (WHAT?!) between American Express and British banking giant Lloyds TSB - with 42% apiece. There was an interesting polarisation between the sexes: Women were more likely to choose American Express (44%) whilst a greater proportion of male investors banked on Lloyds TSB (46%) (this doesn't sound that exciting - it looks like you are pointing out a 2% difference). American Express also tipped the balance for investors over the age of 35.
Beverages: This was the only area where the UK won easily, with Cadbury Schweppes polling 47% compared to 30% that opted for PEPSICO. Cadbury Schweppes was the preferred choice for both male and female investors.
Richard Royds, Managing Director of Mercury Fund Managers said:
"Our latest MORI research findings endorse the notion that investors are prepared to take a more global outlook with their investments, moving away from investing purely in British blue chip companies - and spreading their investments across a number of global leading brands. We have been encouraging investors to think Global rather than pure UK for a long time, as the world stage offers opportunities that are not the be found in the UK."
"The growing trend for investors to focus on US companies is not at all surprising. The US equity market is, by some considerable way, the largest and most influential market in the world. Yet despite this UK investors have little exposure to US equities. However, the US economy is in strong shape and consumer confidence remains robust. Allied to the fact that American companies are widely recognised as being market leaders in the key areas of telecommunications, technology, financial services and pharmaceuticals, there is real logic in investors investing in the US as part of a balanced portfolio."
"Mercury's new Global Titans Fund represents a solution for the investor that wants to develop a global portfolio. Our opening portfolio of companies that are included in the Global Titans Fund includes some of the world's most exciting and mighty companies in industries ranging from technology to finance. Most of the companies that topped the investor survey feature within the Fund. Currently, over 50% of the companies in the fund's portfolio come from the Dow Jones Titans Index, which represents the Worlds largest and most successful companies."
The Fund, managed by Mercury's Global Team, was launched on 31 January 2000 and invests for long term growth in an actively managed portfolio of the world's most successful and dynamic companies. The current portfolio includes Microsoft, HSBC, Intel, General Electric, NTT, AXA, Sony and AOL.
Technical details
The MORI research was undertaken across a GB representative sample of 627 investors, between 10-15 February 2000.
