Clarion Fund Selection Process

Following on from our recent article on the Neil Woodford Funds and the reasons why we did not include these Funds in the Clarion Portfolios, we thought it might be helpful for our clients to understand the process followed by the Clarion Investment Committee and Fund Analyst when selecting and recommending Investment Funds.

Of course, the combined investment experience of the Clarion Investment Committee members of almost 150 years is a good starting point and when selecting active funds for inclusion in the Clarion portfolios we consider the following:

1) The fund manager, their team and the wider organisation including compliance and risk controls.

2) The investment philosophy underpinning the investment process.

3) The fund’s objective and suitability to meet the fund’s strategy.

4) The way the fund portfolio is constructed and whether it is suitably diversified.

5) The performance of the fund and its ability to meet its objectives.

6) The liquidity of the underlying holdings and how quickly the fund could be sold in both normal conditions and in times of market stress.

7) The cost of the fund and the value added by the fund manager.

Our aim is to find funds that deliver performance worth paying for. The cost of the fund is a final value consideration but only after all the other tests have been met.