The fleet of Spanish investment fund managers is very extensive. So much so, that sometimes it is difficult to get an idea of which ones offer the best products because, usually, what one tends to look at is the note received by a fund in question – the famous Morningstar stars, which measure both risk, return and The commissions-. However, this provider also prepares a classification, the League of stars, in which it offers a joint vision of each manager, in which it scores each one of them based on the average 3-year rating weighted by the assets of each fund that has a rating. Analyze a total of 48, and the average mark they get is 2.7 stars. Above average, defending the top positions, are Credit Suisse Management, Renta 4 Gestora and EDM Management.
In this classification, Morningstar explains that it has only taken into account those that have at least 5 rated funds and a minimum of 100 million euros in qualified funds. After that, it has established two categories. One that brings together the large managers, with more than 1,000 million euros in assets in qualified funds. And another for medium managers, who collect less than 1,000 million under this condition.
The best ‘flagships’
In 22nd place in the ranking for asset management in Spain, with just over 1,600 million euros, Credit Suisse Management has around half (about 833 million euros) in rated investment funds and receives the highest average score , out of 4.4 Morningstar stars (see chart).
Among them is CS Duration 0-2 B, rated five stars, which invests in short-term diversified fixed income and earns 2.36% annualized over three years or also CS Duration 0-5 B.
After Credit Suisse Management, the manager of Renta 4 and EDM Management tie with an average rating of 3.7 stars. The first manages, according to Inverco, some 3,500 million euros in funds in Spain spread over 82 products; while the latter is smaller, with around €900 million in assets under management and 10 funds.
In the case of Renta 4 Gestora, the list of funds that receive 5 Morningstar stars is as follows: Renta 4 Wertefinder, Renta 4 Rentafix R, Avantage Fund A, Renta 4 Multigestion Andromeda V. Cap, Renta 4 Multigestion Num. Patr. Glb, Renta 4 Bolsa I, Renta 4 Fixed Income I, Renta 4 Fixed Income Euro and ING Direct FN Fixed Income. The most profitable of all in a period of three years is Renta 4 Multigestion Num. Patr. Glb, a global flexible blend offering a 20% annualized return; followed by another fund in the same category, Renta 4 Multigestion Andrómeda V. Cap, which adds another 15%.
In EDM its flagships are two. On the fixed income side is EDM Ahorro and on the variable income side, EDM Inversión -the latter is, furthermore, dates from 1987 and for three decades its name was linked to that of the historical manager Juan Grau, until, After his retirement in the summer of 2018, Ricardo Vidal and Alberto Fayos took over the reins. Both products achieve five Morningstar stars, the first with an annualized return of 0.89% over three years, and the second with a return of 0.3% over the same period. So far this year, yes, EDM Inversión is among the ten active Spanish stock funds that have risen the most, with an increase of more than 15%.
After EDM, Mediolanum Management is in fourth place for managers offering the best products, occupying 23rd position by assets in Spain, with almost 1,600 million euros spread over 40 funds. According to data from Morningstar, which includes it among the large managers for having more than 1,000 million euros in rated funds, it receives an average rating of 3.6 stars. But as with the previous ones, in its catalog there are funds with a higher grade. With five stars, the maximum, are Mediolanum BB MS Glbl Sel LA, an aggressive global mix, which in the last three years has achieved a double-digit annualized return -11.26%-; Mediolanum Mercados Emergentes EA, a vehicle that invests in emerging market bonds that obtains a return of 11% in the period analyzed and Mediolanum Activo EA, which seeks opportunities in short-term fixed income in the eurozone, and is revalued by 0 .99% per year in the last three.
Very close to the manager of Mediolanum is the manager of Mutuactivos, which obtained an average rating of 3.5 Morningstar stars (see chart). Unlike those mentioned above, the investment arm of Mutua Madrileña is among the ten largest Spanish managers, with more than 7,200 million euros in assets under management and 93 funds. It is the one that obtains the best rating among all of them. According to data from Morningstar, Mutuactivos has five qualified vehicles with the highest rating. These are Mutuafondo, which invests in a diversified short-term bond portfolio; of Mutuafund Fixed Income Flexible, Polar Fixed Income A, Mutuafund Bonds Convertibles and its iconic Spanish stock fund Mutuafund Spain F. Of all of them the most profitable is Mutuafund Bonds Convertibles, with a return close to 14% annualized over three years.
Other large managers… under review
Among the main managers in Spain by equity, rated by Morningstar, are those of five large banking entities with a Spanish seal: CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA, Ibercaja and Kutxabank, ordered from highest to lowest equity with a Morningstar rating.
The manager that has the most assets with a note in our country, CaixaBank Asset Management, with 37,241 million euros at this time. Santander AM follows with 36,869 million and BBVA AM follows closely behind, with 36,453 million. Ibercaja Management has 15,271 million and Kutxabank Management 12,578 million.
However, having more assets is not synonymous with a better average score in this case, since the best manager in this regard is Ibercaja Gestión, with an average of 3.2 Morningstar stars in its funds at this time. The entity has 115 funds and sicavs available for sale at this time, of which 56 are rated by the agency (a sicav that also has a rating has been excluded).
The bulk of Ibercaja’s funds receive a 3 or 2 star rating, as only 3 funds receive the highest rating, 4 funds have 4 Morningstar stars, and only 5 receive one star from the agency. The rest are divided into 25 funds with 3 Morningstar stars and another 19 with 2 stars. The funds with the best rating are Ibercaja Oportunidad Renta Fixed A FI and Ibercaja Sustainable Y Solidario FI, with 3-year annualized returns of 1.45% and 6.54%, respectively. But keep in mind that the first is a fund that invests exclusively in bonds, while the second is a defensive mix with a sustainable approach.
Santander AM, the second largest manager with the best rating for Morningstar, has 333 funds with a rating available for sale in our country. 30 of them have the highest rating, all 5 stars, 53 funds have 4 stars, 99 receive 3 stars, 107 have 2 and 44 have a 1 star rating. The manager of the red bank is particularly good at the Chilean market, since most of the funds that have 5 stars invest in this region, whether they are mixed, equity or fixed income funds. Of course, the most profitable funds among those with the best rating are focused on the US market, with Santander Go Acciones USA III being the most profitable at 3 years, with an annualized return of 32.04% in this period. Of course, it is a fund denominated in Chilean pesos.
Kutxabank Gestión, with the third best rating of the large managers on the list, has 38 vehicles in its possession that receive a rating from Morningstar, of which 7 have a 4-star rating, 15 have 3 stars, 12 have 2 , and 4 with 1 star. The fund with the best rating from the manager and the highest return over 3 years is Kutxabank Bolsa Eurozona Cartera FI, a product with which the participants have earned an annualized 10% in this period, investing in the European stock market and with a sustainability rating above average for the agency.
CaixaBank AM is in fourth place among the five largest managers for the rating given by Morningstar to its funds. It has 225 products that receive a rating, and the most profitable, among the six funds that have 5 stars, is the Caixabank Fonduxo Cartera FI, a mixed fund that invests in the euro zone with which they have managed to generate more than 10 .5% annualized return for its participants.
Finally, BBVA AM has 91 funds for sale in Spain with a Morningstar rating, of which 2 have 5 stars, 3 with 4, 20 with 3, 52 with 2 and 14 with 1. The two products that reach the best note are two global flexible mixed companies, that is, they invest all over the world: BBVA DIF Bitacora A and Estrategia Inversión FI, which obtained annualized returns of 11.45% and 9.72%, respectively, in the last three years.