SMARTfunds
Old Broad Street Research Ltd (Morningstar OBSR)
Morningstar OBSR is an independent investment research and consultancy business with one of the largest and most experienced fund research teams in the UK market. Since 1999 OBSR has been renowned for its objective qualitative research. In 2010 OBSR was acquired by Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research that has offered qualitative analyst research on funds since the late 1980s.
Morningstar OBSR combines the strength of rigorous research and ratings with extensive consultancy expertise to support clients throughout the whole investment process. To reinforce its services that help advisers and providers of financial services navigate changing regulatory environments, Morningstar OBSR draws on Morningstar’s broader global resources, such as one of the largest investment databases in the industry. Morningstar OBSR is committed to helping advisers and institutions identify appropriate investment solutions so they can help investors reach their financial goals.
Morningstar OBSR's research philosophy and approach is not only long-established but is also developing over time in order that it remains robust and relevant in an ever changing industry. Morningstar OBSR's research is respected by fund managers, product providers and professional intermediaries alike, with Morningstar OBSR Analyst Ratings widely acknowledged as an independent mark of quality.
Morningstar OBSR's philosophy is grounded in the belief that a qualitative approach is critical to providing forward-looking research and opinions. Morningstar OBSR believes that a qualitative understanding of a manager, gained through face-to-face meetings, is the only way to understand how a fund is managed, what it sets out to achieve and the prospects of those objectives being met in the future. It also provides a meaningful framework to assess historical trends and returns. While Morningstar OBSR is committed to a qualitative research approach, they also acknowledge that it needs to be supported by quantitative analysis to either validate or question their understanding of a fund's characteristics. This is particularly true where they are looking to assess how a fund is likely to perform in different market conditions.
View a detailed description of their fund rating methodology
In November 2008, Morningstar OBSR became Investment Adviser to SMARTfund Administration for a range of five Risk profiled Managed Portfolios.
The Managed Portfolios from Morningstar OBSR
Asset Allocation Approach
Within each of the SMARTfunds, asset allocation is done at two levels to benefit the client.
Step 1 - Strategic Asset Allocation
Firstly asset allocation is done at a strategic level, based on the client's appetite for risk, by Barrie & Hibbert, specialists in matching strategic long term asset allocation to different risk profiles. This first step in asset allocation ensures that the SMARTfund portfolio's risk and return profile, over the long term, matches the particular appetite for risk and expectations - a key consideration in Treating Customers Fairly.
Step 2 – Tactical Fund Selection
As well as diversifying the SMARTfunds by asset class in your portfolios, Morningstar OBSR will further diversify the strategies by blending funds (e.g. selecting funds with different focuses) within those asset classes. By blending and diversifying the underlying funds making up each asset class, Morningstar OBSR are able to average down the risk and the return of the overall portfolio, further ensuring the funds are appropriate to maintain the strategy.
This two step approach to asset allocation enables Morningstar OBSR to enhance returns, whilst maintaining the appropriate risk profiles in the portfolio, over time.
Fund Research and Selection by Morningstar OBSR
Morningstar OBSR's rigorous and disciplined research and selection process, is used in the SMARTfunds to ensure that, at all times, the funds which are held in the portfolios are, in Morningstar OBSR's view, the most appropriate, given the intended risk and return profile of the SMARTfunds and the current market trends.
In a nutshell, these Managed Portfolios from Morningstar OBSR are intended to provide clients with the opportunity for an investment which matches their appetite for risk, while enhancing returns through the selection of the most appropriate funds.
Contact Morningstar OBSR
To find out more about Morningstar OBSR, please visit www.morningstar-obsr.co.uk or call them on 020 3107 0000.