Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) announced the launch of the Morgan Stanley Investment Funds (MS INVF) Global Brands Equity Income Fund, offering an enhanced income version of the renowned Global Brands Fund.
GBEI invests in a portfolio of high quality stocks in line with that of the MS INVF Global Brands Fund. It generates income, currently targeting a yield of 4% p.a., from a combination of dividends from high quality stocks and premiums from index option overwriting. As of June 30, 2016, the MS INVF Global Brands Fund I shares delivered 10.3% net annualized total returns vs the MSCI World Net Index, which delivered 3.8% since the Fund’s inception on October 30, 2000. GBEI aims to provide investors with attractive and sustainable income while still offering long-term compounding of capital and relative downside protection.
The highly experienced International Equity team manages GBEI, supported by the Solutions & Multi Asset team, specialists in the implementation of option strategies. London-based portfolio managers William Lock, Bruno Paulson and Dirk Hoffmann-Becking are the key portfolio managers for GBEI. The International Equity team manages AuM of US$ 34 billion across its four strategies as of June 30, 2016.
William Lock, Head of MSIM’s International Equity team commented: “We believe the GBEI portfolio’s high quality bias offers a far more robust approach to income generation than that typically offered by high dividend or income funds. We focus on the underlying company fundamentals and free cash flows, which means dividends are more likely to be sustainable and growing. The companies in GBEI make a high return on capital and are capital light. This means they can afford to pay out, and keep paying out, dividends to shareholders. We would argue ours is “income, the right way”, as it offers sustainable dividends in addition to compounding of capital.”
This is a year of important milestones for the International Equity Team. In addition to the launch of Global Brands Equity Income, the International Equity Strategy celebrates its 30-year anniversary and the Global Franchise Strategy marks its 20th year. Morgan Stanley’s Global Quality Strategy, currently at US$ 7billlion, is now three years old.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has more than 590 investment professionals around the world and US$ 405 billion in assets under management or supervision as of June 30, 2016. Morgan Stanley Investment Management strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions, corporations and individuals worldwide.