BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Balanced fund added to the Wealth Shortlist

BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Balanced was added to the Wealth Shortlist of funds chosen by our analysts for their long-term performance potential on 8 June 2023.

The fund aims to achieve a balance between capital growth and income over the long term, defined as at least 5 years. Simon Nichols mainly invests in shares, but also invests in some bonds and cash too.

We think the fund could diversify an investment portfolio focused on growth, or a portfolio focused on company shares. It could also provide some global exposure to a UK focused portfolio.

Nichols began managing funds in the mid-2000s and took over management of the BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Global Balanced fund in 2013. He became manager of this fund in November 2017 and applies the same investment strategy in both funds. He boasts over 25 years’ experience in the investment industry having begun his career in 1995 before joining Newton Investment Management (Newton) in 2001. BNY Mellon own Newton and in 2019 brought all of their funds under the BNY Mellon brand.

Nichols works closely with the mixed-asset and charities team at Newton and in particular with the named co-managers on this fund, Paul Flood and Bhavin Shah. While the three are named co-managers on the fund, Nichols is the decision maker in terms of what investments end up in the fund, and how much is invested in each idea.

Nichols typically likes to invest a large portion of the fund in shares, usually between 70-80%. He invests globally and most of the shares he invests in are from developed markets like the US, UK and Europe.

Nichols favours the shares of established companies with competitive advantages, that often pay a dividend. While there’s no income target for the fund, Nichols likes companies that pay a dividend because of the discipline that this puts on company management teams. This usually leads him to favour large, established businesses, that are cash generative and don’t have lots of debt.

The remainder of the fund is made up of bonds and cash. The bonds held in the fund are typically developed market government bonds, but Nichols could invest in corporate bonds if he wanted to. The bonds and cash part of the fund is there to act as a diversifier when markets fall in value.

The underlying universe of potential investments for this fund is large and includes emerging markets, smaller companies, high yield bonds and derivatives. All of these types of investment add risk if used. While Nichols has the option to invest in these areas, his preference to date has been to invest in large companies from developed markets, government bonds and cash.

We like the cautious nature of the approach and the straightforward way that Nichols and the team look to invest. Our conviction lies with Nichols who has built a strong track record in multi-asset investing which gives us confidence in the fund’s long-term prospects. Though as always, there are no guarantees.

Please note that the fund takes its charges from capital which can increase the yield, but reduces the potential for capital growth.

We've also published a full fund update to go alongside this notification.

Read the full fund update

Past performance is not a guide to the future. Source: *Lipper IM to 30/04/2023.

Find out more about BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Balanced, including charges

BNY Mellon Multi-Asset Balanced Key investor information