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In the US mutual funds sector Eventide Gilead N, a $1,784.56m fund ranked top over the past one, three and five years to date out of 191 funds. With a cumulative performance of +27.60% over the last 12 months it outpaced the $1,126.37m Parnassus Endeavor Fund in second spot (+18.09%), Calvert VP SRI Mid Cap Growth (+17.82%) in third and Brown Advisory Sustainable Growth I in fourth (+17.21%). Eventide Gilead was even more impressive over 3- and 5-year time frames posting returns of +128.47% and +191.31%, respectively, and widening the gap over sector peers.
Boston-based Eventide Asset Management LLC that serves as adviser to Eventide Mutual Funds (managing over $2bn in net assets) and founded in 2008, has been become a leader in faith-based and socially responsibly investing.
As a diversified mutual fund that seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation, it primarily invests in equities that the managers - Dr. Finny Kuruvilla (lead) and David Barksdale (co-portfolio manager) - believe demonstrate values and business practices that are ethical, sustainable, and provide an attractive investment opportunity. But it also invests in securities viewed as having “significant near-term appreciation potential”. Highlighting the stellar performance, $10,000 invested in Eventide Gilead on 8 July 2008 (inception date) would have grown to $30,328 by Q1 2015 - significantly exceeding the S&P 500 Total Return Index over this period ($18,979) and the Russell Midcap Growth Index ($20,931). Not surprising then its size has been growing lately.
The fund’s top five holdings as at 31 March 2015 included Macquarie Infrastructure Company (2.84%), which operates in the aircraft services, liquid storage and marine terminals space; bluebird bio (2.80%), involved in new drugs for patients with severe genetic diseases; Lowe’s Companies Inc. (2.69%) ; Red Hat (2.38%), which distributes and supports open-source operating systems, and, Lear Corp (2.32%).
Amongst European funds the €1,118.61m Robeco Chinese Equities D EUR Acc fund came top over the past year on +74.86% - versus +95.96%/34th over past three years and over +91.35%/164th over five - pipping Hamon Greater China GBP (+62.46%) and Vontobel Sust Asian Ldrs (ex-Jap) A (+62.14%), respectively second and third from top.
The UK Individual Pension funds sector produced the best peer group average over the past year (+27.37%), while European funds took the spoils over three years (+48.97%) and US mutuals top ranked over past five years (+72.54%).
Roger Aitken
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