Results of Alpha League Table Release

EDHEC and EuroPerformance have released their annual rankings of the top UK asset management companies: the Alpha League Table. The Alpha League Table is constructed on the basis of a genuine measure of alpha, using a state-of-the-art methodology developed by EDHEC. The year's results are better than last year's: average alpha increased (approximately 30 basis points) to 2.9% and the average frequency of alpha is 52.2%; whereas it was 46.3% last year. The winner of the 2008 edition is Jupiter, which was ranked second last year. With its average alpha of 4.23% and the frequency with which alpha is delivered coming to 73.75%, the firm posts an impressive performance. Artemis Fund Managers, in its first appearance in the Alpha League Table, is in second place with an average alpha of 4.51% and frequency of 66.11%. In third place, as it was last year, is M&G which offers one of the widest ranges of funds. The alpha generated by the firm was measured at 4.38% and the frequency at 66.54%, improvements on last year. Five of the asset management firms are making their first appearance in the top ten: Artemis, Coutts, Allianz RCM, BNY Mellon / Newton and Threadneedle. The rankings also confirm the robustness of the asset management expertise of the firms that are making repeat appearances. As with the asset management studied in earlier issues of the Alpha League Table (France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland), it is in the home market that the greatest number of 4-star and 5-star funds are found.

Moreover, the table once again confirms that, when it comes to alpha, UK asset managers outperform their counterparts in Europe. On average, 52.2% of UK funds deliver positive alpha. By comparison, frequency of positive alpha is 42.4% for Swiss funds, 30.7% for French funds, and 30% for Spanish funds. In addition, the average alpha produced by UK asset management firms is higher than that of other European asset managers (2.2% for France, 2.4% for Switzerland, 2% for Spain). It is in international equities that the superiority of UK asset managers is most evident. In this zone, they generate alpha of 3.8%, whereas French asset managers have an average of 2.64% and the Swiss 2.42%.