德盛美國股票基金A USD Dis

Morningstar's Take



by Simon Nöth



The stringent strategy and the experienced manager confirm our positive assessment of Allianz RCM US Equity.



In our opinion, one of this fund's main strengths is its manager, as well as the resources at his disposal. Seung Minn has 20 years of investment experience and has been at the helm since the fund's launch in Feb 2008. However, this fund is a clone of an Irish-domiciled fund he has successfully managed the for the past 12 years. He is supported by two dedicated analysts who, together with him, form the US Disciplined Equities team. In addition, the fund manager can take advantage of the expertise of RCM's buy-side team, which is strong and experienced.



A further advantage of the Allianz RCM US Equity fund is its systematically constructed process. It starts by screening the stock universe daily according to key assessment data, which narrows the universe. The remaining stocks are then investigated by the team according to diverse fundamental criteria, so as to pinpoint high-quality stocks. That's when the real work begins: The team uses sophisticated models to prognosticate future sales, earnings, and profitability. From this, a price range with a target and lowest price is derived, the combination of which serves as a guideline for the weighting of individual stocks. Special attention is given to limiting the downside risk.



The portfolio is composed of high-quality US large-cap stocks. The fund distinguishes itself from competing funds through the timing of its purchases. Minn invests when stocks get little market attention, expectations are low, and the stocks trade as value shares. He sells or starts to reduce positions as soon as the market rediscovers these stocks. For example, toward the end of 2009 through mid-2010, Minn loaded up on mega-caps with a market capitalization of more than EUR 30 billion. Exxon and General Electric underperformed the market during the fourth quarter of 2009; however, Minn subsequently increased these positions. The low turnover corresponds to the long-term investment approach.



Since Seung Minn has assumed responsibility for the strategy (Irish-domiciled fund), it has consistently ranked in the top decile of the US Large-Cap Blend Equity category. Over several periods the strategy is doing better than the benchmark and category. Only between 2002 and 2003 was there a phase of weakness. The fund's maximum loss is clearly below that of the benchmark and category average. This is the result of a process that limits the downside risk. The risk/reward profile reflects outperformance with average risks overall, which is in the fund's favor. Overall Allianz RCM US Equity Fund remains a convincing long-term vehicle for investing in US stocks. We are maintaining our Superior rating.