The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock, known for its domination of the ETF market has launched the BGF Multi-Theme Equity Fund. This fund gives investors access to the firm’s thematic range by combining both index and alpha products.
The BGF Multi-Theme Equity Fund offers exposure to five key megatrends: technological breakthrough, demographics & social change, rapid urbanisation, climate change & resource scarcity, and emerging global wealth.
The fund will actively allocate across the full spectrum of BlackRock’s thematic alpha and index products, with a concentrated portfolio of between 6-17 holdings, and will utilise both strategic and tactical asset allocation. The strategic allocation is designed to deliver long-term exposure to the five megatrends, while the tactical overlay will monitor shorter-term signals, seeking to take advantage of market cycles.
The fund provides investors exposure to a set of companies with potential to experience above-average earnings growth, which are being underestimated by the market, but with the hope they may outperform global equity markets over the longer term.
The BGF Multi-Theme Equity Fund will be managed by Chris Ellis Thomas and Rafael Iborra, who will draw on insights from BlackRock’s global network of research including the Thematic Research Investment Group (TRIG), which identifies long-term themes driven by one or more of the five global megatrends.
Evy Hambro, Global Head of Thematic and Sector Based Investing at BlackRock said: “Thematic investing has rapidly grown in popularity in recent years and until now investors have had to choose between an alpha or index product. This fund has been specifically designed to combine both alpha and index so that investors who are attracted to the transformative forces of megatrends can access a broad range of thematics through a single portfolio. Whilst long-term in nature, this fund will also have the ability to capture shorter-term trends by monitoring news sentiment and signals to maximise return potential.”
