Square Mile strips ratings from Investec and Franklin funds

Following 33 fund manager meetings in January

Analysts at Square Mile Investment Consulting and Research have removed the Investec Emerging Markets Equity and Franklin UK Mid Cap funds from its Academy of Funds – its showcase of recommended and rated vehicles – following extensive meetings with 21 asset management groups over the course of January.

The 31 meetings led to the team removing its 'A' rating from Archie Hart's £181m Investec Emerging Markets Equity fund, which it said was because the manager has "struggled to meet his performance objective since the fund's launch in 2012". The team said: "While some funds may have certain style elements which can lead to underperformance at various points in the cycle, a key attraction of this fund was a process that considers a range of key factors designed to help deliver performance regardless of market backdrop.   "Unfortunately, this has not been the case and Square Mile's convi...