New research conducted with advisors by global fund manager Fidelity International reveals support for the multi-manager concept and confirm...

New research conducted with advisors by global fund manager Fidelity International reveals support for the multi-manager concept and confirms that multi-manager funds have established themselves as an investment option. The majority of advisors who responded (82 per cent) use multi-manager funds, with nearly all of those who do (98 per cent) expecting the extent to which they use multi-manager funds to continue or increase. Almost a third of advisors use multi-manager funds for a quarter to half of the business they do, while nearly a quarter use multi-manager funds for more than half of the business they do. Other findings revealed by the survey include: -Nearly half of advisors use multi-manager funds for all clients where suitable, while over a third advocate using multi-manager funds as a core holding, using specialist funds as satellites. -Nearly all advisors use more than one multi-manager provider. -When selecting a multi-manager fund, performance is at the top of advisors’ criteria, followed by risk-return profile, charges and then resources of manager. Advisors believe that clients benefit directly from a number of factors including access to a diversified portfolio in one investment (90 per cent) and access to a range of best-in-breed funds for a small minimum investment (76 per cent). Peter Hicks, head of IFA channel at Fidelity said: “We forecast multi-manager assets to grow even faster over the next few years, averaging an annual rate of 18 per cent between now and 2009”. Fidelity International and its subsidiary companies provide investment products and services to individuals and institutional investors outside the US. It has £149 billion ($281 billion) of assets under management.