First State Global Property Securities is one of the strongest performers in terms of total return in the Investment Management Association's (IMA) property sector. This is in line with its aim of trying to achieve a total investment return consistent with income and long-term capital growth. At least two-thirds of the fund have to be invested in property securities.
In terms of sector diversification, the sector is focused on retail, more than 26 per cent of the fund, and offices 19 per cent.
The fund's investment team is increasingly positive on the outlook for global listed property as a result of improving economic data and the low level of global bond yields. While the investment team is positive on Asian listed property due to the strong macro-economic outlook for the region, the fund is underweight Chinese property developers because of government moves there to stem the pace of growth due to fears of a property bubble.
The fund also gets its exposure to China, where possible, via Hong Kong-listed companies operating in the country rather than Chinese 'A' shares.
However, like most global property security funds its largest exposure is to North America, which accounts for more than half the assets of the fund. "The US is a very mature, well established real estate investment trust (Reit) market which offers lots of choice and more diversity in asset class," says Stuart Martin, co-manager of the fund.
The fund investments also include single sector and smaller companies which could add to volatility.
FIRST STATE GLOBAL PROPERTY SECURITIES FUND A INC (CFGPDA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | 94.32p | SHARPE RATIO | -0.03 |
| SIZE OF FUND | £21m* | 6-MTH PERFORMANCE | 8.69% |
| No OF HOLDINGS | 71* | 1-YR PERFORMANCE | 34.24% |
| SET UP DATE | 12 September 2006 | 3-YR PERFORMANCE | 0.10% |
| MANAGER START DATE | 31 May 2009 | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.89% |
| FEES | Initial 4%; annual 1.5%* | YIELD | 3.24% |
| STANDARD DEVIATION | 27.82% | MINIMUM INVESTMENT | £1,000* |
| BETA | 0.93 | MORE DETAILS | www.firststate.co.uk |
Source: Morningstar, *First State Investments.
Performance data as at 15 September 2010.
Top 10 holdings (as at 31 July 2010)
| Holding | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Simon Property Group | 5.8 |
| Westfield Group | 5.8 |
| Boston Properties | 4.0 |
| Unibail Rodamco | 4.0 |
| Equity Residential | 3.8 |
| Stockland | 2.6 |
| Macerich | 2.6 |
| Digital Realty Trust | 2.4 |
| Avalonbay Communities | 2.4 |
| Extra Space Storage | 2.3 |
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Percentage |
|---|---|
| North America | 52.5 |
| Asia Pacific ex Japan | 22.1 |
| Europe ex UK | 10.0 |
| UK | 7.1 |
| Latin America/EMEA | 3.1 |
| Japan | 2.6 |
| Cash | 2.6 |
