Bell Global Emerging Companies Fund hits five-year milestone as investor appetite for global small and mid-cap continues to rise

Global equities boutique manager Bell Asset Management has hit a key milestone with its global small and mid-cap strategy, Bell Global Emerging Companies Fund (Fund), reaching a five-year track record and producing strong returns for investors.

Over the last 5 years to 31 August 2021, the Fund has returned 16.6% pa, outperforming its benchmark MSCI World SMID Cap Index by 2.6% pa. Performance over the shorter term has also been strong with the Fund appreciating by 26.7% this calendar year to 31 August 2021, an outperformance over the benchmark by 3.5%.

Commenting on the milestone, Ned Bell, Chief Investment Officer, said he was pleased with the Fund’s performance to date, and that the portfolio is well positioned for the coming 12-18 months.

“We have been researching and investing in global small and mid-cap (SMID) stocks since 2003 and over this time, we have developed a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of this specialist sector. The Bell Global Emerging Companies Fund consists of a portfolio of 30-60 high quality companies in North America, Europe and Asia, whose earnings are dictated by their robust business models and strong franchises. Our quality at a reasonable price philosophy and strong investment process has allowed us to deliver investors robust risk/return outcomes even during periods of market dislocation and volatility.”

Over this time, Bell Asset Management has seen a marked increase in the take-up of SMID allocations across investor and model portfolios.

“We have long advocated for clients to consider an allocation to global SMID companies and we are seeing widespread acceptance as many investors look to complement a growth allocation to global equities with global SMID stocks. We believe global SMID stocks should play an important growth role in global portfolios going forward as they have less valuation risk than large cap growth stocks, less absolute risk than emerging markets and less liquidity risk than small caps.

Looking ahead, we believe global equity markets are currently transitioning from a period dominated by the immediate post-COVID-19 economic recovery to a period where inflationary pressures linger, and economic growth decelerates.” said Mr Bell.  

The Bell Global Emerging Companies Fund was recently nominated by Zenith Investment Partners as a finalist for its inaugural International Equities − Global Small Cap category.