02 Apr 2026
RSMR fund ratings are more than just a badge of quality — they represent trust, due diligence, and a reputation built on rigorous research and expert analysis. Every month we study the universe of funds in the investment marketplace to assess whether they meet our exacting standards and should be given the RSMR seal of approval.
Here are the new rated funds from our March review:
The Portfolio Managers for the Allianz Best Styles Global AC Equity fund aim for a diversified and balanced portfolio using their systematic and quantitative process. Using five factors which they believe help to generate alpha over time. The emphasis is on selecting the best companies based on their multi-factor scores, to outperform the index within a low tracking error strategy.
The multi-factor approach focuses on investment styles which have historically delivered excess returns against a passive index. The fund managers continually assess the risk to returns within the fund, and take pragmatic approaches to output delivered by the optimiser by making active adjustments which suit the prevailing investment backdrop. The level of resources devoted to the suite of Best Styles products and its competitive fees relative to passive index peers delivers on both cost and performance metrics, making the Allianz Best Styles Global AC Fund suitable as a core building block in portfolios.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Allianz Best Styles Global AC Equity fund
Launched in December 2011, Fidelity Asian Smaller Companies is bottom up in construct with a distinct value bias with the investment philosophy created by Nitin Bajaj. The focus is to find good business i.e. they have a product or service that customers want to buy, sold at a price that derives a good return on capital that can be done for a long period of time. The company also needs to be managed by people who are competent and honest as if they are incompetent, they will destroy the business and if they are dishonest, they will steal the business. The final aspect is to buy the company at an attractive price.
The current manager assumed PM responsibility for the fund in September 2013 and is supported by a co-portfolio manager.
The fund is bottom up in construct with a distinct value bias based on the investment philosophy created by the manager. The manager is not afraid to have conviction and express his views which can lead to a portfolio which is differentiated from peers within the sector in terms of composition and style.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Fidelity Asian Smaller Companies (Offshore) fund
RSMR has awarded the Regnan Sustainable Water & Waste Fund a dual rating in recognition of its strong responsible investment credentials and its robust, research‑driven approach to delivering long‑term risk‑adjusted returns. The strategy invests across the full global water and waste value chains, maintaining high thematic purity so that outcomes are driven by structural environmental needs rather than broad equity market movements. Its focus on essential services, strong pricing power and high cash‑flow visibility provides a stable foundation for performance.
The fund is managed by an experienced team with deep expertise in water, waste and sustainability‑focused thematic investing. Each company undergoes a structured review of returns on capital, earnings momentum, margins, balance‑sheet strength and cash generation, alongside multiple valuation techniques including discounted cash flow and free‑cash‑flow analysis. Crucially, sustainability is embedded throughout the strategy. The fund adheres to strict Article 9‑aligned eligibility criteria, incorporates structured ESG due diligence and applies Regnan’s Sustainable Value Assessment to evaluate both current practices and future improvement potential. Stewardship and active engagement further reinforce responsible outcomes. These features, combined with the theme’s diversification benefits and the managers’ specialist insight, underpin RSMR’s conviction in awarding the fund a dual rating.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Regnan Sustainable Water and Waste fund
The Royal London Global Sustainable Equity fund focuses on using capital to support the transition to a more sustainable economy and is bottom up in construction.
The fund primarily invests in companies that make a positive contribution to one or more of the sustainability themes identified – Clean, Healthy, Safe, Inclusive – through their products or services. Although the fund is predominantly positive screened, there are exclusions in place that filter out businesses in contentious areas.
Reflecting the global remit, Royal London Global Sustainable Equity (compared to the UK focused Royal London Sustainable Leaders) does have an additional quant stage in the process to purely enable the narrowing of the universe due to the enlarged composition. The portfolio also has a higher turnover and more of a growth bias compared to Sustainable Leaders reflecting the differing underlying opportunity set. However, like all funds in the range, both funds are using sustainability to locate mispriced growth and mispriced quality.
The fund benefits from the same resource as the existing rated funds in terms of the Sustainable Equities team, the Responsible Investment team, as well as the External Advisory Committee.
There is also an offshore version of the fund categorised within the IA Global sector.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Royal London Global Sustainable Equity fund
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The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested.