All change for M&G American

9 June 2015 – M&G American has been given a new name, manager and investment strategy. Now called M&G North American Dividend, and run by John Weavers, the fund will now focus on income as well as growth to maximise long-term total returns.

Previously managed by Aled Smith and Michael Oliveros, the fund used to target capital growth through investment in large-cap stocks and typically had 65-75 holdings with purchases and sales considered on a one-in/one-out basis. It held a Chelsea generic ‘switch’ rating.

Now, under the management of John Weavers and his deputy, Stuart Rhodes, while dividend yield is not the primary consideration for stock selection, the fund seeks to invest in companies that understand capital discipline, have the potential to increase dividends over the long term and are undervalued by the stock market. The portfolio will be more concentrated with 40-50 holdings.

Juliet Schooling Latter, research director of Chelsea commented: “This type of strategy has worked very well on the M&G Global Dividend fund, which is on the Chelsea Core Selection and is Elite Rated by FundCalibre. So we believe this is a positive move by M&G, particularly as Stuart Rhodes, manager of the Global Dividend fund, is deputy manager now. The fund will move to a generic ‘hold’ rating and we will monitor the fund carefully over the next six months before updating investors in the next Chelsea Fund Review.”