Portfolio Adviser fund AwArds 2008 CAtegory winner
Fund Awards 2008
WINNER
BlackRock’s Evy Hambro
Specialist equities
BlackRock Gold and General Fund
The BlackRock Gold and General
Fund is an equity fund and
so is at the mercy of the vagaries
of the global stock market
problems though maybe not
quite as much as some.
The fund’s manager,
Graham Birch, says that gold
bullion declined by 4.8% but
September saw a rise to $878
per ounce.
“Much of this resilience
was due to the buying of
gold as a hedge against uncertainty,
moves in the dollar and
fears that central bank cash
injection packages could again
heighten inflation.
“But the performance of
gold equities was predominantly
driven by negative
sentiment in the market,
rather than underlying fundamentals
or moves in the gold
price,” he adds.
Blackrock gold and general vs index
% 100
200
150
50
0
Jul ’05 Jan ’06
Source: Morningstar
fund facts
Jul
BlackRock Gold and General
Fund name: BlackRock Gold and General Manager: Graham Birch
Launch date: 21 Mar ’88 Fund size: £868.25m Initial charge: 5%
Annual charge: 1.75% Min initial invest: £1,000 M’star rating: HHHHH
14 Portfolio ADViSEr SuPPlEmEnt [www.portfolio-adviser.com] DEcEmbEr 2008
Annual discrete performance
40
%
30
M’star UK SC Gold & Prec Metals
Jan ’07
70
60
50
20
10
0
BlackRock Gold and General
Source: Morningstar
Jul
Year ending Jun ’06
Year ending Jun ’07
Year ending Jun ’08
Quartile performance: 1 Jul ’05 – 1 Jul ’08
1st q’tile
2nd q’tile
3rd q’tile
4th q’tile
Q3
’05
Q4
’05
Source: Morningstar
The fund declined by 26.9%
over the third quarter.
Q1
’06
Jan ’08
Q2
’06
Q3
’06
Jul
Q4
’06
M’star UK SC Gold & Precious Metals
Q1
’07
Q2
’07
Q3
’07
Its underweight positions
in index heavyweights, such
as Barrick and Newmont, hurt
relative performance and holdings
in platinum miners were
also weak, on fears of reduced
platinum demand from the
automotive industry.
The short to mediumterm
picture is weak, with little
sign of any material increase
in supply. In addition, existing
mines are struggling to
maintain production, while a
lack of exploration success
in the gold mining industry is
compounding the issue.
This last point could be a
positive longerterm indicator
for rising gold prices.
The rising wealth of emerging
economies is still likely to
support consumer demands
for jewellery.
Q4
’07
Q1
’08
Q2
’08
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