WS EkinsGuinness Dynamic Growth Fund
Overview
Summary
- Dynamic asset allocation between equities, bonds, commodities and cash
- Aim is to capture equity market upside in bull markets but to reduce drawdowns (peak to trough falls) in bear markets
- All exposure achieved through Exchange Traded Funds which have low costs and low dealing charges
- Avoids style bias – both asset allocation and equity focus change according to market conditions
- Suitable as a potential diversifier within a broader portfolio due to generally low correlation and lower volatility than Equities
- Can also be a core holding for investors who prefer not to make asset allocation changes themselves
Investment Approach
The two most important drivers for investment decisions are fundamental value and market trends. Fundamental value determines the potential over the medium/long term but can be a poor indicator of price movements in the short term. Market trends (including momentum and overbought signals) can be a good leading indicator of future price movements but can be dangerous if fundamental value is ignored. Neither analytic should be used in isolation but it is logical to select investments based objectively according to a combination of fundamental value and market trends which are independent of opinion, forecasts and emotion.
Performance
(as at 30 September 2025)
Performance shown is the total return (net of fees & costs) for the Accumulation B share class. Inception date was 12 July 2017. The Fund is not managed against any benchmark. The Investment Association Flexible Sector and UK Consumer Price Inflation are shown as Comparator benchmarks as per FCA PS 19-04. The IA Flexible Sector contains a wide array of funds with a flexible mandate, hence the comparator, but many of them have different investment objectives and profiles. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Source: Ekins Guinness LLP.
Key Facts
Structure & Administration
| Structure |
UCITS / ISA |
Authorised Corporate Director |
Depositary | Custodian | Auditor |
Income / Accumulation |
Dividend Payment Dates |
Valuation & Cut Off |
Comparator Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK Authorised OEIC |
Yes |
Waystone Financial Services |
BNY Mellon |
BNY Mellon |
KPMG |
Both |
31 January & 31 July |
12 noon daily |
MSCI World Index |
Share Classes
| Share Class |
Minimum Holding |
Managment & Administration Fee |
Ongoing Charges Figure |
ISIN | SEDOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Z Accumulation GBP |
£200,000 |
0.45% |
0.60% |
GB00BLFFGD12 |
BLFFGD1 |
|
Z Income GBP |
£200,000 |
0.45% |
0.60% |
GB00BLFFGC05 |
BLFFGC0 |
|
B Accumulation GBP |
£5,000 |
0.70% |
0.85% |
GB00BD8YW428 |
BD8YW42 |
|
B Income GBP |
£5,000 |
0.70% |
0.85% |
GB00BD8YW758 |
BD8YW75 |
Managers
Charles Ekins
Charles is the founder and Chief Executive of Ekins Guinness LLP. Previously he was Chief Investment Officer at Valu-Trac Investment Management, prior to which he spent 19 years at Morgan Grenfell (Deutsche) Asset Management where he was a portfolio manager, member of the Investment Policy Committee and client director. He read Maths with Computing Science at Bristol University and has an MBA from the City University Business School. Charles is a Director of the Herald Worldwide Technology Fund (Dublin OEIC).
Jasper Falk
Jasper has over 20 years experience in Investment Banking. He established and managed JPMorgan’s Global Inflation trading business which assisted Pension Funds and Asset Manager clients in hedging and managing their liabilities. He was also a member of the Fixed Income Management Committee. Jasper read Engineering and Management Studies at St Catharine’s College Cambridge, and holds the Financial Times Non-Executive Director Diploma.
Holdings
(as at 30 September 2025)
Portfolio Holdings
Equity Analysis
Investment Commentary
as at 30 September 2025
The Fund rose 4.4% in September 2025 which gives a return of 70.5% (net of fees and costs) since launch on 12th July 2017. This compares with a return of 54.8% from the Investment Association (IA) Flexible Sector which places it in the 2nd quartile since launch. Against all 647 funds in the four IA Mixed Asset Sectors (Flexible Sector plus the 0-35% Shares, 0-60% Shares & 40-85% Shares Sectors), the Fund is ranked in the first quartile over 1 and 5 years, and second quartile over 3 years.
In September World Equities rose 4.0% in price terms (ie before any currency effect) but 3.6% in GBP terms due to slight weakness in USD versus GBP. The UK Equity market rose 1.9%. UK Gilts and US Treasuries gave a modest positive return, while Gold surged over 11% and has pushed on further in early October to over $4000.
There is a gradual melt-up taking place in World Equity markets, driven by Technology and in particular enthusiasm for capex spending in AI. Corporate earnings expectations are still strong especially in the US, and there are prospects for further interest rate cuts. For the time being, this is overriding concerns about expensive equity valuations.
There was a wide dispersion of returns from Sectors in September. Technology (+7.8% in GBP terms) and Communication Services (+5.1%) were the best performing Sectors, while Consumer Staples (-1.7%) and Energy (flat) were the worst performing Sectors.
The allocation to Equities has fallen further to 64% by the month end and in early October to 56%. Although there is plentiful exuberance in this gradual melt-up of the Equity markets, Value Yield is falling in turn and it at concerning low levels. The driving factors (AI, growth in technology capex, strong corporate earnings, falling interest rates) could well propel markets higher, but the risks have increased significantly.
As such, alongside the reduced level of Equity allocation, the Fund still has 16% in Gold and 8% in a diversified basket of Commodities. Furthermore, it has a small allocation to US Treasuries which has increased in early October and a reserve of 11% at the time of writing.
A new concern is that Gold is becoming extended – not yet sufficiently to start reducing but the model is on tenterhooks. Unless there is sudden weakness in Equities, any reallocation from Gold could realistically only be redployed in the Bond markets or short term cash equivalents. US Treasuries are building steady albeit weak momentum. We sense change coming.
Documents
Links to external sites
Umbrella Documents
Reports
How to Invest
via Platforms
Directly
The WS EkinsGuinness Dynamic Growth Fund is available on the following platforms:
| Allfunds | Aegon | AJ Bell | Alliance Trust |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ascentric |
Aviva |
Barclays |
FNZ |
|
Hargreaves Lansdown |
Interactive Investor |
Novia |
Nucleus |
|
Pershing |
Transact |
Zurich |
|
Contact Ekins Guinness LLP
- Call 01264 738989
- Link to Application Forms