In focus
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This multi-asset range is cheaper than Vanguard LifeStrategy, but there
are some key differences compared with its more established rival
TRUSTNET
LifeStrategy 80% Equity, for example,
has 80 per cent in stocks and 20 per
cent in fixed income; BlackRock
MyMap 6, meanwhile, currently has
78.9 per cent in stocks, 16.9 per cent in
bonds, 3 per cent in alternatives and
1.2 per cent in cash.
FACT BOX
MANAGERS: Rafael Iborra, John Wang, Christopher Ellis Thomas & Andrew Keegan /
LAUNCHED: 28/05/2019 / RANGE SIZE: £163.4m / OCF: 0.17%
CROWN RATING
N/A
PERFORMANCE OF FUND VS SECTOR SINCE LAUNCH
IA Volatility Managed (6.12%)
BlackRock MyMap 6 (10.09%)
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
-2%
ongoing charges figure (OCF) of
0.22 per cent, the MyMap range is
certainly attractive with an OCF of
just 0.17 per cent.
But investors attracted to the
Vanguard offering because of its
passive approach should note there is
a key difference in the MyMap funds.
Although they are built from iShares
ETFs and index funds, the portfolios
are actively managed by a team of
four headed up by Rafael Iborra, a
senior investor in BlackRock’s multi-
asset strategies group.
Rather than sticking with a fixed
allocation for each portfolio, the
team is able to adjust its weighting
to asset classes, geographies, sectors
and factors to meet its risk targets,
depending on market conditions.
BlackRock said this “reverses the
traditional multi-asset fund approach
by fixing risk and allowing allocations
to fluctuate”.
O
ne of the most successful
multi-asset ranges of recent
years has been Vanguard
LifeStrategy, whose five funds have
proved immensely popular thanks to
their low fees and strong total returns.
Some £20bn is now held in this
range, which has emerged as a
common building block in the
portfolios of private investors and
financial advisers. The funds are
constructed from Vanguard trackers
and are automatically rebalanced to
keep them in line with their target
allocation to equities and bonds.
There are rival products in the
space with good track records and
last year BlackRock stepped up the
competition with its MyMap range –
four multi-asset funds with varying
risk targets. But how do they compare
with their LifeStrategy counterparts?
For investors attracted to the
LifeStrategy range due to the low
Another key difference from the
LifeStrategy range is the BlackRock
MyMap funds offer exposure to more
than just stocks and bonds: each
portfolio can allocate to property,
gold and cash. But this does make the
funds more complicated: Vanguard
BlackRock MyMap
Source: FE Analytics
trustnet.com