Brewin Dolphin’s managed portfolio service (MPS) is going to be available as a Ucits fund for the first time after the discretionary fund manager partnered with Guinness Asset Management to power two funds, International Adviser can exclusively reveal.
The Guinness Multi Asset Balanced Fund and the Guinness Multi Asset Growth Fund are based on Brewin’s Passive Plus MPS.
They are designed to act as a core holding, alongside complementary satellite holdings in specific single strategy funds.
Asset allocations are set by the Brewin Dolphin asset allocation committee and the underlying funds, which are recommended by the Brewin fund research team, are reviewed and managed by London-based Guinness Asset Management.
Marketing outside the UK will be handled by Acorn International Distribution.
Blend of active and passive
The two funds predominantly use lower-cost index funds to gain market exposure, to reflect the Brewin Dolphin asset allocation view.
However, Brewin’s fund research team believes that some sectors cannot be replicated by passive investment; namely absolute return, smaller companies and income-producing firms.
This is where the ‘plus’ element of the DFM’s Passive Plus strategy comes into play, by offering exposure to active funds.
Adding actively managed funds to the mix provides diversification and has the potential to enhance long-term performance, compared to indices, the firm said.
International adviser demand
According to Tim Guinness, founder and chief investment officer at Guinness Asset Management, demand for the funds came from the firm’s “strong relationships with international advisers”.
“For some time, they have been asking us how we can help them further by providing a core multi-asset solution. By partnering with Brewin Dolphin we can now offer them just that.”
Robin Beer, managing director of investment solutions and distribution at Brewin Dolphin, added: “This is the first time we have offered our intellectual capital to a fund manager under the ‘powered by Brewin Dolphin’ branding.
“We hope that Guinness’ international advisers and their clients can benefit from our combined expertise in asset allocation and fund selection, executed via a daily traded Ucits fund structure.”
