Lonsec waits for dust to settle at BT

Uncertainty over the performance ofBT/Sagitta’s new Australian equity and property teams has resulted in a lukewarm assessment of the group’s capabilities from research houseLonsec.

The Sagitta Rothschild Conservative Fund, BT Split Income Fund and Sagitta Rothschild Balanced Fund all remain on ‘hold’ following the Melbourne-based research group releasing its annual diversified fund review.

According to Lonsec, BT/Sagitta’s new investment teams in these areas need to demonstrate stability and evidence of improved performance and value-add before the rating is lifted.

A recent staff reshuffle saw BT replace Principal Global Investors as manager of its listed property assets, with these now managed in-house under listed property head Antoinette Plater, and appoint Crispin Murray as head of Australian equities following Andrew Brown’s departure.

Lonsec’s review also resulted in the addition of a new sector classification and subsequent realignment of other classifications in order to provide advisers with “more clarity about where funds sit in the diversified universe”, Lonsec head of managed funds research Grant Kennaway says.

Lonsec has added High Growth as a new classification for funds with more than 80 per cent growth assets, with the remaining classifications - Growth (61-80 per cent growth assets), Balanced (41-60 per cent growth assets) and Capital Stable (max 40 per cent growth assets) - moving down the scale.

This reclassification has resulted in the addition of theIOOFCapital Stable Fund and thePerpetualConservative Growth Fund as ‘recommended’ in the Capital Stable sector, as well as the addition of theCredit SuisseCapital Stable Fund as an ‘investment grade’ fund, and the upgrading of theMacquarieCapital Stable Fund from ‘hold’ to ‘recommended’.

In the Growth sector, the IOOF Balanced Fund has been added as a ‘recommended’ fund, the Macquarie Balanced Growth Fund has been upgraded to ‘recommended’, while the Credit Suisse Capital Growth Fund has been downgraded to ‘investment grade’.

The addition of the new High Growth sector has also seen the Macquarie Growth Fund added to the list of ‘recommended’ funds, while the Credit Suisse High Growth Fund has been added as an ‘investment grade’ fund, with downgrades to ‘recommended’ forCFSHigh Growth Fund and to ‘investment grade’ for theINGHigh Growth Trust.