BGF World Gold E2

Analyst Report
Morningstar's Take
|22/04/2025

by Ramanand Kothari
BlackRock Gold and General & BGF World Gold benefit from a seasoned and well-resourced investment team that applies a disciplined, benchmark-aware process in a highly concentrated universe. The Strategy’s People and Process Pillar ratings remain Above Average and Average, respectively.

A seasoned duo, Evy Hambro and Tom Holl, manages this strategy, with Holl serving as the day-to-day portfolio manager since 2015. Holl has worked with Hambro on mining and gold portfolios since 2008, adding experience and depth to his role. Additionally, Holl comanages the BGF Natural Resources strategy and solely manages the group’s nutrition mandates, though he continues to spend time on the mining side and remains committed here. Hambro has been involved in the strategy since 2002, initially as comanager alongside Graham Birch, and became lead manager following Birch’s retirement in 2009. His long tenure and deep expertise in gold and mining provide stability and enhance the strategy’s appeal. Hambro was also appointed CIO of the thematics and sectors team in 2009, overseeing a sizable group managing energy, mining, gold mandates, and thematic strategies (since 2019). The managers are well-supported by a 15-member team dedicated to the broader natural resources sectors, including eight experienced members specializing in mining and gold, all within a relatively small investment universe.

The managers have consistently applied a disciplined, bottom-up investment approach across market cycles, focusing on higher-quality producers and believing valuations underestimate the long-term earnings potential. However, the prospectus FTSE Gold Mines Index and the Morningstar Global Gold Category Index have become increasingly concentrated in recent years. Because of UCITS regulations, which cap individual holdings at 10%, the portfolio is significantly structurally underweight the three largest names—Newmont (21.5%), Agnico Eagle (21.2%), and Barrick Gold (13.8%)—which collectively represent nearly 57% of the FTSE Gold Mines Index. As a result, the relative performance of these stocks can strongly influence the strategy's returns. Furthermore, the strategy's large asset base of USD 5.8 billion limits exposure to smaller-cap stocks because of liquidity constraints. However, it remains a sensible and well-structured approach for a concentrated investment universe.

The strategy has delivered mixed results. Since Hambro took over from May 2009 through March 2025, it has slightly outperformed both the prospectus and Morningstar Category benchmarks, as well as its peers. However, over the past 10 calendar years, it outpaced the index in only two—2024 and 2020.
 
Morningstar Medalist Rating™Growing index/universe concentration continues to pose challenges.
To find out how Morningstar rates a fund click here.
Morningstar Pillars
PeopleAbove Average
ParentAbove Average
ProcessAverage
 
Morningstar Medalist RatingMorningstar assigns the Medalist Rating to funds that are qualitatively and quantitatively assessed through manager research and algorithmic processes. The assessment turns on three key “pillars” – People, Process, and Parent – that yield an estimate of how well a fund will perform before fees but after adjusting for risk.
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