What is Financial Express?

Financial Express is a leading provider of market data to the financial services industry.

Methodology

Financial Express Crown Ratings are compiled using three key measurements of a fund's performance: alpha, volatility, and consistency.

Alpha is a measure of the fund's returns against its benchmark. It is the loss or gain the fund has posted when the benchmark return is assumed to be zero.

Volatility measures the degree to which the fund's periodic returns vary either side of its mean return. The larger the fluctuation, the more risky the fund is.

Consistency tracks the nature of a fund's overall return. Was this achieved steadily over time, or were normally loss-making periods offset by a large atypical gain?

Financial Express Crown Rating 3

Link to 3 Crown Funds

These represent the top 20% of funds in their sector. By definition they will have demonstrated a good, if not excellent, record across the three performance criteria.

Financial Express Crown Rating 2

Link to 2 Crown Funds

This rating goes to the next 30% of funds in the sector. Here we are looking at performance that tends more towards the average for the sector. This could arise from a consistently average showing across the three criteria, or from elements of good performance which have been mitigated by a lower score in one of the other criteria.

Financial Express Crown Rating 1

Link to 1 Crown Funds

This rating comprises the remainder of the funds in the sector. It does not necessarily indicate that there is nothing to recommend these funds, although this could be the case. Equally, a meritable component of the rating could have been outweighed by negative criteria that would be tolerable within some clients' risk/reward profiles.

These ratings are, of course, intended to offer a pointer towards funds that are worthy of further investigation. Past performance is not a guide to the future. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. You may not get back the amount originally invested.

Non-rated funds
To be eligible for rating, a fund must possess the following characteristics:
• it has 3 years track record
• its history is accurate and consistent
• it is in a sector of 10 or more funds
• it does not belong to specialist or unclassified sector