Zephyr Releases PSN Top Guns List, Outlining Best Performing Strategies for Q1 2022

Quarterly ranking identifies best-in-class separate accounts, managed accounts and managed ETF strategies

NEW YORK, May 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zephyr, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LSE: INF), and a recognized leader in investment management technology for wealth managers and advisors, has published its highly anticipated Q1 2022 PSN Top Guns List of best performing separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies.  The list remains one of the most important references for investors and asset managers.

"PSN Top Guns provides an important perspective into the market and strategies," says Margaret Tobiasen, SVP of Data Distribution at Zephyr who cites PSN's pioneering efforts as the first SMA database as the reason for the list's popularity. "Every quarter brings invaluable insight and often showcases strategies that might otherwise be overlooked."

Ryan Nauman, Market Strategist for Zephyr, provides an overview each quarter of the PSN Top Guns List. For PSN Top Guns Q1 2022, Nauman says that "global financial markets hit a roadblock," and outlines reasons why below.

"The first quarter of 2022 will be remembered for Russia's surprising invasion of Ukraine in late February. The horrific human implications rippled through global equity markets as the MSCI World index finished the quarter down -5.04% while bonds (Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate -6.16%) didn't provide investors any solace. Meanwhile, commodity prices such as oil, gas, and wheat surged which contributed to the continued rise in inflation. In its attempted to tame four-decade high inflation the Federal Reserve (Fed) started to remove its accommodative policies."

"The quarter started very poorly for U.S. equities as the S&P 500 index fell a -5.17% in January on fears that the Fed will tip the domestic economy into a recession as a result of its aggressive tightening policies. Despite the uncertainty, the S&P 500 index finished the quarter with a +3.71% return in March which resulted in a -4.60% return for the quarter. Due to the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russia, managers with an overweight to energy outperformed, as oil prices surged, and the energy sector posted a +39.03% (S&P 500 Energy Sector) return. The only other sector to end the quarter in the green was the defensive utilities sector (S&P 500 Utilities Sector +4.77%). Below are some of the strategies that make up the PSN Top Guns Large Value Universe."

• Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.: Miller/Howard Infrastructure: (+8.8% for the quarter)
• Federated Hermes, Inc.: Fed Hermes Strategic Value Dividend (+7.4% for the quarter)
• J.P. Morgan Asset Management: JPM US Large Cap Value (+6.9% for the quarter)

"Eurozone equities, measured by the MSCI Europe ex UK index, fell a -9.81% during the quarter as the region has close ties to Ukraine and Russia while having a heavy reliance on Russian oil and gas. In addition to the concerns brought on by the unrest in Eastern Europe, inflation continued to rise. The European Central Bank announced that it would end its bond purchases by the end of September and hinted the first interest rate hike could happen later this year. Meanwhile, strategies with exposure to commodity rich Latin America (MSCI EM Latin America +27.33%) benefited as other countries in search of replacements for Ukrainian and Russian commodity exports turned to Latin American countries like Brazil. The following strategies made the PSN Top Guns list for the Emerging Markets Universe."

• MFS Investment Management: MFS Latin America Equity: (+27.9% for the quarter)
• abrdn plc: Latin American Equity (+25.4% for the quarter)
• T. Rowe Price: Latin America Equity Strategy (+22.2% for the quarter)

"Four-decade high inflation and expectations that the Fed will hike interest rates to as high as 2.5% by the end of the year pushed fixed income, particularly long dated maturities (Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Long Government/Credit -10.95%), into a tailspin. The Fed increased key interest rates by 25 basis points during the quarter and turned more hawkish as it signaled quantitative tightening and more rate hikes are coming this year. As a result, Treasuries experienced one of their biggest selloffs in recent memory. 10-year Treasury yields rose from 1.51% to 2.35% while the 2-year yield increased from 0.73% to 2.33%. Below are some of the strategies that make up the PSN Top Guns Short Maturity Universe."

• Putnam Investments: Putnam Stable Value (+0.6% for the quarter)
• Invesco: Stable Value (+0.4% for the quarter)
• Morley Capital Management, Inc.: Morley Separate Account Composite (+0.4% for the quarter)

Through a combination of PSN's proprietary performance screens, the PSN Top Guns List ranks products in six proprietary categories in over 50 universes based on continued performance over time. The complete list and an overview of the methodology, can be found on https://psn.fi.informais.com/login.asp under the "Products & Services" tab.  If you do not have a login, you may register for complimentary access. 

About PSN
For nearly four decades, PSN has been a top resource for investment professionals. Asset managers rely on Zephyr's PSN to effectively reach institutional and retail investors rely. Over 2,800 firms, 285 universes, and more than 21,000 products comprise the PSN SMA database showing asset breakdowns, compliance, key personnel, ownership diversity, ESG, business objectives and strategy, style, fees, GIC sectors, fixed income ranges and full holdings. Unique to PSN is its robust historical database of nearly 40 Years of Data Including Net and Gross-of-Fee Returns. For more details on the methodology behind the PSN Top Guns rankings or to purchase PSN Top Guns reports, contact Margaret Tobiasen at [email protected]. Visit PSN online to learn more.

About Zephyr
Zephyr's award-winning financial services solution enables wealth managers and advisors to fully manage client investment goals. The platform consistently scores high among users for its ease of use with valuable tools including presentation center, portfolio proposal generation, performance measurement, asset allocation modeling, research, analytics and ESG ratings and reviews. Clients' ability to customize communication tools to create professional proposals and presentations provides significant value for advisors to convey investor strategies and success. Visit financialintelligence.informa.com to learn more about Zephyr or to request a demo or 14-day free trial on the Zephyr platform.

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SOURCE Zephyr