The IM Vinculum Global Equity Fund, which charges fees only when performance exceeds a recognised investment industry benchmark, has reported a successful year of trading with a total net return of 11.23 per cent.
The fund beat its benchmark in three out of four quarters.
Vinculum was founded in November 2011 by Nigel Legge, the ex-chief executive of Liontrust, Bjarne Jensen, previously a portfolio manager of Denmark’s largest pension fund, ATP, and Douglas Thursby-Pelham, a veteran of the advertising industry.
Vinculum’s investment process introduced a new approach to stock selection based purely on audited publicly available financial information untainted by sentiment, forecasting or fashion, taking no account of valuation or other style preferences. It uses a unique and rigorous analytical methodology, the StockR8 process, developed over many years by Jensen which identifies, rates and selects companies of the “Highest Economic Quality” based on their ability to demonstrate superior combined financial and earnings strength over time. The fund selection process screens from a database of 65,000 companies worldwide down to a final portfolio of just 50 stocks.
Legge says: “Our declared aim with the IM Vinculum Global Equity Fund is to deliver to our investors long-term capital appreciation and, whilst one year is certainly not long-term, we are delighted that in the first 12 months of trading the fund has delivered on its objective. Not only have first day investors benefited from a decent, double digit return but they have also paid below market price for it. The fund’s TER of 1.54 per cent is below the industry average for actively managed funds of 1.7 per cent.”
Investors in the IM Vinculum Global Equity Fund are only charged a fee by Vinculum if the Fund outperforms its benchmark in each quarter. Should the fund underperform, the investor will not be charged, except for the 0.25 per cent p.a. administration fee paid direct to the third party fund administrator.
Jensen says: “Our experience shows us that if we stick to our long-developed process of analysing factual and audited data on companies and selecting only those that pass the sternest of tests qualifying for what we deem the Highest Economic Quality, then we can look with confidence to 2013 and beyond.”
The IM Vinculum Global Equity Fund is available through a growing number of platforms including Standard Life and Novia.