Foord International Fund
For conservative, absolute-return investors
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The fund aims to achieve meaningful inflation-beating US$ returns over rolling five-year periods from a conservatively managed portfolio of global investments reflecting Foord's prevailing best investment view.
FOR INVESTORS
- With a moderate risk profile
- Seeking preservation of capital and safe investment growth.
REGISTERED COUNTRIES
Luxembourg, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
| Year | Fund Return % | MSCI World Return % | US Inflation % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 (from 10/Mar) | 9.1 | 13.1 | 1.3 |
| 1998 | 13.9 | 24.3 | 1.6 |
| 1999 | -11.7 | 24.9 | 2.7 |
| 2000 | 23.7 | -13.2 | 3.4 |
| 2001 | -4.0 | -16.8 | 1.6 |
| 2002 | 3.2 | -19.9 | 2.5 |
| 2003 | 21.1 | 33.1 | 2.0 |
| 2004 | 13.0 | 14.7 | 3.3 |
| 2005 | 5.8 | 9.5 | 3.3 |
| 2006 | 18.4 | 20.1 | 2.5 |
| 2007 | 12.7 | 9.0 | 4.1 |
| 2008 | -18.4 | -40.7 | 0.0 |
| 2009 | 18.8 | 30.0 | 2.8 |
| 2010 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 1.4 |
| 2011 | -1.1 | -5.5 | 3.0 |
| 2012 | 11.2 | 15.8 | 1.8 |
| 2013 | 15.1 | 26.7 | 1.5 |
| 2014 | -1.9 | 4.9 | 0.7 |
| 2015 | 1.9 | -0.9 | 0.7 |
| 2016 | 1.2 | 7.5 | 2.2 |
| 2017 | 15.5 | 22.4 | 2.0 |
| 2018 | -9.6 | -8.7 | 1.9 |
| 2019 | 17.0 | 27.7 | 2.3 |
| 2020 (to 30/Apr) | -4.3 | -12.4 | -1.0 |
| Objective |
To achieve meaningful inflation-beating US dollar returns over a full investment cycle. |
| Time horizon |
Longer than three years. |
| Inception date |
2 April 2013 |
| Initial investment amount |
US$10,000 or equivalent |
| Subsequent subscription amount |
US$1,000 or equivalent |
| Significant restrictions |
Complies with UCITS regulation. In addition, the Fund cannot entered into total return swaps, securities lending transactions, repurchase transactions or reverse repurchase transactions or any other securities financing transactions. Only listed derivatives can be used for efficient portfolio management. |
| Income distributions |
A roll-up fund with income being reinvested in the portfolio. |
| Income characteristics |
Zero income yield as it does not distribute its income. |
| Portfolio orientation |
Flexible asset allocation across different asset classes - global equities, listed commodity securities, interest-bearing securities, cash and money market instruments - to achieve its objective. |
| Risk considerations |
The fund is priced in US dollars. Among others, investment value is subject to foreign exchange risk, market risk and interest rate risk, and credit risk of the issuers. |
| Risk of loss |
Moderate in periods shorter than three years. Subject to market volatility, lower in longer term. |
| Security description | Asset class | Country of Listing | Portfolio weight % |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMC Corp | Equity | US | 8.1 |
| Nestle | Equity | CH | 5.4 |
| Roche Holding AG | Equity | CH | 4.6 |
| SSE PLC | Equity | GB | 4.5 |
| CVS Health Corp | Equity | US | 4.0 |
Monthly Commentary – April 2020
- Developed market (+10.9%) and US (+13.1%) equities surged, with the S&P 500 achieving its fastest single-month rally since October 1974 – on coordinated and robust global monetary and fiscal policy responses and early indications of progress on potential COVID-19 therapies
- Emerging markets (+9.2%) gained, led by India (+16.1%) and Russia (+11.5%) – India’s markets were buoyed by a $23 billion COVID-19 stimulus package while Russian markets were aided by the bottoming and subsequent rise in the oil price
- Leading precious metals miner Wheaton Precious Metals (+37.2%) contributed the most to fund performance driven by increases in gold (+6.4%) and silver (+10.1%) – the fund’s derivative hedges detracted in the rapidly-rising market
- Despite lower market volatility and the global equity rally, developed market bond yields including the US 10-year made new lows – bond investors continue their push into relative safe-havens amid economic uncertainty
- The US dollar weakened marginally against the British pound (+1.7%) and Japanese yen (+1.0%) – after a period of strength
- Cyclical industrial commodities including oil (+11.1%) and copper (+5.1%) rebounded – as global stimulus buoyed investor sentiment
- The fund retains the S&P 500 hedges given the continued global economic uncertainty resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – despite the significant monetary and fiscal stimulus measures enacted the path to economic recovery remains unclear at best
Management Fee (Percentage of the applicable Net Asset Value per share)
Class A: 1.35%
Class R: 1.35%
WHAT IF YOU HAD INVESTED WITH US IN THE PAST?
Experience the compounding phenomenon of a sustained, long-term investment with Foord.
Insights
08 May 2020
Stretched businesses unlikely to survive COVID-19 without government aid
The Asset spoke with Singapore-based Brian Arcese, portfolio manager at Foord Asset Management to get his outlook and insights into investing in global equities in the current climate.
09 Apr 2020
THE PIN THAT POPPED THE BUBBLE
Global equity markets delivered the best calendar-year return of the decade in 2019. Many markets were at or near all-time highs. In this podcast, Nick Curtin talks to Foord Singapore portfolio manager Brian Arcese…