Independent global investment research company Vadevalor has launched a fund manager search engine as part of its rollout to the UK funds market. 

The firm has researched thousands of equity fund managers working in the European market and has awarded a rating to individuals it considers to have added value over the longer term.

Initially launched in the Spanish market, Vadevalor employs simple criteria in rating managers.

• ‘AAA’ rating

This identifies professionals who have outperformed their relevant benchmarks for more than 10 years since the inception of their career in managing funds.  Examples of fund managers included in this category are Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn at Aubrey Capital Management and Katie Potts at Herald Investment Management.

• ‘AA’ rating

This rating highlights managers that have outperformed their relevant benchmarks for more than five years since the inception of their career in managing funds.  This category includes the likes of Rachel Reutter at J O Hambro Capital Management and Gerrit Smit at Stonehage Fleming.

• ‘A’ rating

This refers to managers that have outperformed their relevant benchmark for more than three years since the inception of their career in managing funds, and are managing a fund in excess of €50M.

• Vadevalor Talent

This is the designation awarded to emerging equity fund managers who have been investment directors for less than three years, or less than five years with AUM of less than EUR 50 million, and who do not currently meet the criteria for the Company’s ‘AAA’, ‘AA’ or ‘A’ ratings.  Julia Angeles, Marina Record and Rose Nguyen of Baillie Gifford and James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management are amongst the managers in this category.

Vadevalor’s research is undertaken independently, with rated managers able to use the Vadevalor accreditation and logo in their marketing and distribution activities free of any charge.  The fund manager search engine is free to access at www.vadevalor.com and features fund managers working at firms based in both the UK and Spain.  Established in 2017, Vadevalor expects fund managers from all over Europe to feature by the end of the year.

The company views its ratings as both different from and complementary to other ratings awarded to UK fund managers. 

Co-founder and managing Partner, Javier Ribas Meneu explains, “When we started gathering data on fund managers in Spain, of the 20 fund managers boasting the best long-term results, just four held a Morningstar 5 Star rating [which measures a fund's risk-adjusted return relative to similar funds].  That rating system, which is well-established in European markets, places greater emphasis on short-term results and is a rating awarded to the fund, not the manager.  In contrast, the Vadevalor rating is awarded to individuals and is based on performance over longer periods relative to the fund’s benchmarks, not the manager’s peers.  When a manager’s performance is compared to the average performance of their peers, you find that more fund managers look good.  Fewer managers outperform their relevant benchmarks than outperform their peers.”

When the search engine and ratings system was launched in Spain in 2020, Spanish financial services website Rankia sought an to collaborate with Vadevalor, creating access for more than 800,000 private investors.

Commenting on its UK rollout, co-founder and managing partner, Abhinav Premnath added, “The UK is the dominant market in European asset management, so it was a logical next step as we look to introduce the Vadevalor proposition in other domains and work towards our vision of developing a global brand, respected for its independence and objectivity, and acknowledged as generating value for its customers, workers and partners alike.