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 2024)

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
Cooper Parry
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 2024)

Portfolio Holdings

Equity Analysis

Investment Commentary

as at 30 September 2024

as at 31 December 2023

The Fund fell 0.3% in September 2024 which gives a return year-to-date of 8.6%. Since launch (12 July 2017) the Fund has returned 45.6% (net of fees and costs), which compares with 40.0% from the Investment Association (IA) Flexible Sector which is a comparator benchmark.

The Fund is ranked in the 1st quartile over 5 years, 2nd quartile over 3 years and 3rd quartile over 1 year out of all 622 funds in the four IA Mixed Asset Sectors (Flexible, 0-35% Shares, 20-60% Shares & 40-85% Shares).

World equities rose in September in local price terms but the strength of Sterling meant that, in Sterling terms, World equities fell by 0.2%. US Equities rose 2.1% in USD terms, while UK Equities fell 1.3% due to concerns about slow UK interest rate cuts and downwards market pressure coming from retail investors positioning themselves ahead of expected CGT rises in the October Budget.

There has been a mixed bag in terms of Sector rotation in recent months. Energy has performed poorly all year, while Utilities and Financials have generally continued to outperform. Technology has not yet made a strong recovery after the steep underperformance in July. Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services have both done better than in previous months having previously underperformed. The recovery in Consumer Staples and Healthcare has faded.

There has been little change to the Fund’s Asset Allocation in recent months despite plenty of distracting news (August rate cut in the UK, new UK Government, the recent 50 bps rate cut by the US Fed, upcoming US Presidential election, Middle East tensions, July/August market volatility etc). The Asset Allocation target remains at around 85% Equities and 15% Gold.

Global Equity markets have recovered from the volatility / correction in July/August and reached new highs in price terms (although for UK-based investors Equity markets have not fully recovered due to offsetting Sterling strength). The higher levels of Equity markets have renewed the Equity valuation concerns of earlier in the year. Bond markets are also in an uptrend after going sideways over the last year and after the weakness since the inflation surge starting in 2020. Gold remains in an uptrend and is a useful hedge against rich Equity valuations and geopolitical risk.

The Equity market setback in July/August and the significant underperformance of Technology has resulted in a more mixed pattern of Sector performance. Technology has stabilised in relative terms but is not yet back into a clear outperformance trend, whereas other Growth Sectors such as Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary are outperforming. More defensive Sectors such as Consumer Staples and Healthcare recovered for a while but have fallen back. Financials and Utilities look firm with continued good momentum. The Fund’s overweights are in Consumer Discretionary and Utilities, whilst Healthcare has been reduced until a clearer pattern emerges.

Documents

Specific to WS Enigma Dynamic Growth Fund

Specific to Fund Umbrella

How to Invest

via Platforms

Directly

The WS Enigma 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

Contact Waystone Fund Services

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WS Enigma Funds

The WS Enigma Funds are not available to US persons. Full details of the WS Enigma Funds, including risk warnings, are published in the Prospectus and Supplementary Information document. The WS Enigma Funds are exposed to global financial markets and therefore is subject to market fluctuations and other risks inherent in such investments. Investments in overseas markets may be affected by changes in exchange rates, which could cause the value of your investment to increase or diminish. The manager may enter into derivative transactions for efficient portfolio management purposes (including hedging) and investment purposes.

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