e-fundresearch.com: Mr Greg Aldridge, you are the fund manager of the M&G Global Growth Fund. When did you take over the responsibility of managing this fund?
Greg Aldridge: I was appointed fund manager in May 2007.
e-fundresearch.com: What is the current size of the fund?
Greg Aldridge: The size of the fund is €1,129.7 million, as at the end of March 2013.
e-fundresearch.com: Do you also manage other funds or mandates?
Greg Aldridge: I was appointed co-fund manager on both the M&G European Fund and the M&G Pan-European Fund in January 2011. I’ve also co-advised the $18.9 billion Vanguard International Growth Fund since 2008 (source: Vanguard as at 31 March 2013).
e-fundresearch.com: What is the total amount of assets you manage currently?
Greg Aldridge: €1,547.8 million of M&G assets, as at the end of March 2013.
e-fundresearch.com: How long have you been in the business as a fund manager?
Greg Aldridge: I joined M&G as an analyst covering basic industries stocks in 2004, before becoming a fund manager in 2007.
e-fundresearch.com: What are the main steps in your investment process and in which area is your competitive edge to add value to investors?
Greg Aldridge: The fund is a high-conviction portfolio of between 50 and 70 holdings from across the globe. I select stocks based on their individual merits, seeking attractively valued companies producing high, sustainable returns, with scarce assets and growth drivers that should allow them to increase the fundamental value of their business over time.
e-fundresearch.com: Which benchmark is most relevant and how should investors compare the fund vs. benchmarks or peer groups?
Greg Aldridge: The MSCI AS World index is the fund’s benchmark and performance should be compared to the fund’s Morningstar Global Large-Cap Blend Equity sector peer group. While I am benchmark aware, I am not benchmark constrained, and so do not have target sector or geographic weightings. Positions in the portfolio are based on a bottom-up approach, and over and underweight positions are a reflection of where I find the best opportunities for the fund.
e-fundresearch.com: Which performance did you achieve for the fund YTD and over the past five calendar years in absolute terms and relative to relevant benchmark or other reference indices?
Greg Aldridge: The fund has returned 8.9% year-to-date, as at 12 April 2013, which is in line with its peer group but slightly ahead of its benchmark index which returned 8.7%. The fund has returned 5.7% per annum over the last 5 years which puts it ahead of its sector average which gained 3.8% per annum.
e-fundresearch.com: Many Thanks!
