Free CISI CWM PCT Practice Questions: Fund Management and ESG
Practice 10 free CISI Chartered Wealth Manager Portfolio Construction Theory sample exam questions on Fund Management and ESG, with answers, explanations, practice tests, topic drills, and the Finance Prep next step.
CISI means Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. CWM means Chartered Wealth Manager, and this page is for the Portfolio Construction Theory paper. Use this focused CISI CWM Portfolio Construction page as a short practice test for Fund Management and ESG. The items are original Finance Prep sample exam questions built for scenario-based practice, not trivia, puzzle questions, official CISI questions, copied live-exam content, or exam dumps.
Topic snapshot
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam route | CISI CWM Portfolio Construction |
| Issuer | CISI |
| Credential identity | CISI is the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment; CWM means Chartered Wealth Manager. |
| Topic area | Fund Management and ESG |
| Blueprint weight | 18% |
| Page purpose | Focused sample questions before returning to mixed practice |
How to use this topic drill
Use this page to isolate Fund Management and ESG for CISI CWM Portfolio Construction. Work through the 10 questions first, then review the explanations and return to mixed practice in Finance Prep.
| Pass | What to do | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| First attempt | Answer without checking the explanation first. | The fact, rule, calculation, or judgment point that controlled your answer. |
| Review | Read the explanation even when you were correct. | Why the best answer is stronger than the closest distractor. |
| Repair | Repeat only missed or uncertain items after a short break. | The pattern behind misses, not the answer letter. |
| Transfer | Return to mixed practice once the topic feels stable. | Whether the same skill holds up when the topic is no longer obvious. |
Blueprint context: 18% of the practice outline. A focused topic score can overstate readiness if you recognize the pattern too quickly, so use it as repair work before timed mixed sets.
Sample questions
These are original Finance Prep practice questions aligned to this topic area. They are not official CISI questions, copied live-exam content, or exam dumps. Use them to preview question style and explanation depth before continuing with topic drills, mixed sets, and timed mock exams in Finance Prep.
Question 1
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A wealth manager is reviewing the preferred external manager for a £4 million global equity sleeve in a UK private client’s discretionary portfolio.
Client and mandate extract:
- Medium capacity for loss and no need to draw from the equity sleeve for at least seven years.
- Target exposure: active developed-market global equities, benchmarked to MSCI World Net GBP.
- Expected tracking error: 4-7%.
- Derivatives: permitted only for efficient portfolio management, with daily collateral monitoring.
- Client restriction: no tobacco exposure.
Due diligence notes on the preferred manager:
- Three-year net return is 2.1% p.a. ahead of benchmark, mainly from stock selection.
- The manager’s model portfolio remains within the stated tracking-error range.
- Recent client portfolios show 12-15% cash for four months after inflows because of trading desk delays.
- Equity index futures were used to keep market beta near 1.0, creating 112% gross equity exposure.
- Collateral checks were performed weekly, not daily.
- A tobacco holding remained in one account for 11 weeks after a restriction file failed to load.
What is the most appropriate manager-selection decision?
- A. Defer appointment until the manager provides evidence that trading, restriction monitoring, derivative collateral, and breach-reporting controls have been remediated in live portfolios.
- B. Appoint the manager and offset the temporary cash and futures exposure by reducing equity exposure elsewhere in the total portfolio.
- C. Appoint the manager because the model portfolio meets the target tracking-error range and the three-year performance record is ahead of benchmark.
- D. Appoint the manager but revise the client’s target portfolio to allow higher cash, futures exposure, and weekly collateral monitoring.
Best answer: A
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Manager selection should not rely only on the model portfolio or headline performance. The implemented portfolios show whether the manager can deliver the intended exposure within the client’s mandate and control framework. Here, prolonged cash levels, futures exposure creating gross equity exposure above 100%, weekly rather than daily collateral checks, and a failed tobacco restriction are not minor style differences. They are implementation, trading, risk management, and control facts that should change the selection decision. A manager may have strong stock selection and still be unsuitable if live portfolios do not reliably reflect the target portfolio or client-specific constraints.
- Performance-led appointment ignores mandate breaches and operational control failures in live portfolios.
- Revising the client’s target portfolio to fit the manager reverses the selection process; the manager should fit the mandate, not the other way round.
- Offsetting exposure elsewhere treats the issue as only an asset-allocation problem, but the decisive concern is manager implementation and control quality.
The implemented portfolios reveal material execution and control weaknesses that directly conflict with the client mandate, despite attractive performance.
Question 2
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A UK discretionary wealth client is reviewing a £2.4m portfolio. The investment committee must replace 8% of the portfolio currently held in a UK equity income mandate after a responsible-investment review.
Client and mandate extract:
- Time horizon: at least 12 years.
- Objective: real capital growth; portfolio income is not required.
- Risk budget: the equity sleeve can remain moderate-to-high risk, but total portfolio volatility should not increase materially.
- Responsible-investment preference: no tobacco, controversial weapons, or thermal coal; oil and gas exposure is acceptable only where the manager has documented transition engagement.
- Tax: holdings are mainly inside ISA and pension wrappers, so immediate UK capital gains tax is not the main constraint.
Existing equity sleeve:
- 38% UK equity income/value, tilted to banks, energy, miners, and tobacco; dividend yield 4.4%; beta 1.08.
- 32% US large-cap growth, dominated by technology and communication services.
- 18% Europe quality dividend.
- 12% broad emerging markets.
The committee wants to reduce the UK value/income concentration without creating a narrow single-theme equity bet. Which replacement allocation is most appropriate?
- A. Allocate to a concentrated clean-energy and climate-innovation thematic strategy with no fossil-fuel holdings, high small-cap exposure, and high tracking error.
- B. Allocate to a higher-yielding UK equity income value strategy with a lower fee, accepting energy, mining, and tobacco exposure to stabilise income.
- C. Allocate to an emerging Asia small-cap growth strategy with strong long-term growth prospects, high beta, and limited stewardship reporting.
- D. Allocate to a global quality-growth sustainable equity strategy benchmarked to ACWI, diversified by region and sector, excluding prohibited industries and using transition engagement.
Best answer: D
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Equity selection should start with the client’s objective, risk budget, existing exposures, and responsible-investment constraints. The current sleeve is already heavily exposed to UK equity income/value stocks and has sector concentrations that include a direct tobacco conflict. The client has no need for dividend yield, so replacing the position with another UK income fund would not address the portfolio problem. A diversified global sustainable equity strategy is better aligned because it reduces home-market and sector concentration, balances the existing style mix, respects the stated exclusions, and uses engagement where transition exposure is permitted. A narrow clean-energy theme or emerging Asia small-cap fund may have attractive growth narratives, but either would add concentrated factor, sector, regional, or beta risk inconsistent with the instruction not to increase portfolio volatility materially.
- A higher-yield UK income mandate repeats the existing regional, style, sector, and tobacco problems while solving an income need the client does not have.
- A clean-energy thematic fund may look aligned with sustainability, but its narrow theme, small-cap bias, and high tracking error would create an unwanted concentrated bet.
- An emerging Asia small-cap allocation improves geographic diversification, but high beta and weak stewardship reporting conflict with the risk and responsible-investment facts.
This allocation improves regional, sector, style, and responsible-investment fit without adding a concentrated thematic or high-beta exposure.
Question 3
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A wealth manager is comparing two active global equity proposals for a satellite sleeve.
Due-diligence notes:
- Manager X: Builds active weights to target named rewarded characteristics. Sector and country weights are kept close to the benchmark. No company DCF research or macro/geopolitical calls are used.
- Manager Y: Uses a statistical model trained on a broad data set. Variables are retained if they improve out-of-sample prediction, whether or not they represent an economically named characteristic. The portfolio is re-optimised mechanically.
For Manager X, expected annual factor contribution is calculated as active factor exposure × expected annual premium, summed across factors.
| Factor | Active exposure | Expected annual premium |
|---|---|---|
| Value | +0.40 | 2.0% |
| Quality | +0.30 | 1.5% |
| Momentum | -0.20 | -0.5% |
Which statement best compares the two managers?
- A. Manager X is a fundamental approach because it uses valuation-related variables; Manager Y is technical because it is mechanical.
- B. Manager X is a technical approach with an expected annual contribution of +1.15%; Manager Y is factor investing because any statistical model is factor investing.
- C. Manager X is a factor active approach with an expected annual factor contribution of +1.35%; Manager Y is a quantitative active approach.
- D. Manager X is a geopolitical/economic approach because sector and country weights are controlled; Manager Y is fundamental because the model selects securities.
Best answer: C
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Factor active management deliberately targets compensated characteristics such as value, quality, momentum, size or low volatility. Manager X’s expected contribution is 0.40 × 2.0% + 0.30 × 1.5% + (-0.20 × -0.5%) = 0.80% + 0.45% + 0.10% = 1.35%. A negative exposure to a factor with a negative expected premium adds to expected relative return because the portfolio is avoiding that expected detractor. Manager Y is quantitative: it uses statistical prediction and mechanical optimisation without requiring each input to be a recognised factor. Fundamental management centres on company research and valuation judgement; technical management on price and volume patterns; geopolitical or economic management on top-down macro or political views.
- Calling Manager X fundamental confuses named value and quality factor exposures with bottom-up company research and discretionary valuation theses.
- A mechanical model is not automatically technical; technical approaches rely mainly on price, trend or volume signals.
- Sector and country controls are risk constraints, not evidence of a geopolitical or economic active approach.
- Treating -0.20 × -0.5% as negative understates Manager X’s factor contribution.
Manager X deliberately targets named factor premia and its summed contribution is 0.80% + 0.45% + 0.10% = 1.35%, while Manager Y is driven by statistical prediction.
Question 4
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A UK sterling-based client is adding £300,000 to the equity sleeve of a discretionary portfolio.
Client and portfolio facts:
- Risk profile: balanced-to-growth, with a 12-year horizon and capacity for normal equity volatility but not large unintended concentration risk.
- Return preference: real capital growth; no current income requirement.
- Current equity exposure: materially overweight UK equity income and US mega-cap technology; limited exposure to Japan, Asia and emerging markets.
- Review benchmark: MSCI ACWI IMI, with a mandate guideline to avoid large unintended regional or sector bets.
- Responsible-investment preference: reduce exposure to high-carbon laggards and use engagement and voting, while retaining broad diversification.
Which equity selection is most suitable for the next allocation?
- A. A UK equity income fund with high dividend yield, value bias, and large positions in energy, banks and utilities.
- B. A concentrated clean-energy thematic fund invested mainly in small and mid-cap renewable technology companies.
- C. A global all-cap core equity fund with quality tilt, diversified regional and sector exposure, controlled tracking error to MSCI ACWI IMI, climate-transition screening, and active stewardship.
- D. A high-conviction frontier and emerging markets deep-value fund with high tracking error and limited stewardship disclosure.
Best answer: C
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Equity selection should reflect the role the holding is meant to play within the whole portfolio. Here, the new allocation should reduce existing UK income and US technology concentration, support long-term real growth, and remain aligned with a broad global equity benchmark. A core global all-cap approach can add regional and sector breadth, including measured exposure outside the client’s current UK and US bias, without turning the allocation into a single-theme or high-tracking-error position. The climate-transition screen and stewardship process also fit the client’s responsible-investment preference better than either ignoring sustainability or using a narrow impact-style theme that changes the risk profile materially.
- UK equity income would deepen an existing domestic and dividend-style bias, and its sector mix may conflict with the stated climate preference.
- A clean-energy thematic fund has an appealing label, but its narrow sector and smaller-company exposure create concentration risk outside the mandate guideline.
- A frontier and emerging markets deep-value mandate may improve non-UK and non-US exposure, but the high tracking error and weak stewardship evidence do not fit the stated constraints.
It addresses the client’s growth, diversification, risk-control and responsible-investment requirements without creating a narrow regional or sector bet.
Question 5
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A wealth manager’s investment committee is reviewing the UK equity index fund used as the core holding in model portfolios.
Mandate:
- Objective: broad FTSE All-Share exposure, not active alpha.
- Review rule: annualised tracking error should normally be no more than 0.25%.
- Review rule: annualised tracking return, measured as fund return less benchmark return, should not be worse than -0.40% a year.
- Switching in taxable accounts should be avoided unless the evidence clearly supports a change.
Three-year due diligence extract:
- Current fund:
- Full physical replication; occasional futures for cash flows.
- Tracking return: -0.27% a year.
- Tracking error: 0.10% a year.
- Fund B:
- Optimised sampling; several smaller companies omitted.
- Tracking return: +0.08% a year.
- Tracking error: 0.95% a year.
- Fund C:
- Full physical replication.
- Tracking return: -0.62% a year.
- Tracking error: 0.07% a year.
Which recommendation best applies the tracking return and tracking error evidence?
- A. Retain the current fund because it meets both review rules and avoids an unsupported taxable switch.
- B. Switch to Fund C because the lowest tracking error is the decisive measure for an index fund.
- C. Switch to Fund B because its positive tracking return shows that it has added value versus the benchmark.
- D. Replace the physical fund with a futures overlay because derivatives normally remove tracking return shortfalls.
Best answer: A
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Index fund review should consider both the level and the stability of active returns. Tracking return measures the average difference between the fund return and the benchmark return. Tracking error measures how variable that difference is. For a core passive exposure, the aim is usually close and reliable benchmark replication, not opportunistic outperformance. The current fund’s -0.27% tracking return is within the -0.40% tolerance, and its 0.10% tracking error is below the 0.25% limit. Fund B’s positive tracking return is not enough because its 0.95% tracking error suggests material unintended active exposure. Fund C tracks consistently but has an average performance drag beyond the stated tolerance. With taxable accounts involved, switching needs a clear portfolio-construction benefit, which is not present here.
- A positive tracking return can be misleading if it comes with high tracking error and unintended factor, sector, or sampling exposures.
- The lowest tracking error alone is insufficient when the average benchmark shortfall breaches the stated review rule.
- A futures overlay can introduce basis, roll, collateral, liquidity, and operational risks; it does not automatically eliminate tracking shortfalls.
- Avoiding taxable switching is sensible where the current fund already satisfies the passive mandate.
The current fund has low active-return volatility and an acceptable average shortfall against the benchmark under the committee’s stated limits.
Question 6
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
An investment committee is reviewing a physically replicated equity index fund used in model portfolios. The mandate expects close index exposure but recognises normal implementation drag from charges, tax leakage and cash balances.
Use these conventions:
- Tracking return = fund total return - index total return for the review period.
- Annualised tracking error = monthly standard deviation of active returns × √12.
- √12 = 3.46.
Review data:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Index total return over 12 months | 8.40% |
| Fund total return over 12 months, net of charges | 7.95% |
| Standard deviation of monthly active returns | 0.16% |
| Mandate maximum annualised tracking error | 0.75% |
| Expected implementation drag over 12 months | -0.30% |
Which assessment is most appropriate?
- A. The tracking return is -0.45% and annualised tracking error is about 0.55%; no further review is needed because tracking error is within the limit.
- B. The tracking return is -0.45% and annualised tracking error is 1.92%; the fund has breached the tracking-error limit.
- C. The tracking return is -0.45% and annualised tracking error is about 0.55%; the fund is within the tracking-error limit, but the extra 0.15% lag versus expected drag should be reviewed.
- D. The tracking return is +0.45% and annualised tracking error is about 0.55%; the fund has added value while staying within the tracking-error limit.
Best answer: C
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Tracking return and tracking error answer different review questions. Tracking return is the period performance difference from the benchmark: 7.95% - 8.40% = -0.45%, so the fund lagged the index. Annualised tracking error measures the variability of active returns. Using the stated convention, 0.16% × 3.46 = 0.5536%, about 0.55%, which is below the 0.75% mandate maximum. The fund has not breached the tracking-error limit, but the observed lag is worse than the expected implementation drag of -0.30% by 0.15 percentage points. That residual difference should prompt review of implementation factors such as replication, cash management, rebalancing, tax leakage, or data timing.
- A positive tracking return would require the fund return to exceed the index return; here 7.95% is below 8.40%.
- Annualising a standard deviation uses the square root of time, not simple multiplication by 12.
- A tracking-error limit controls volatility of active returns, but it does not make an unexplained negative tracking return irrelevant.
The fund lagged the index by 0.45%, annualised tracking error is 0.16% × 3.46 = 0.55%, and the lag is 0.15% worse than the expected drag.
Question 7
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A wealth manager is considering a 4% allocation to a commodity index fund for a sterling balanced portfolio. The fund does not buy physical crude oil or take delivery. It holds exchange-traded futures and rolls the crude oil component before delivery risk begins.
Crude oil roll facts, per barrel:
- Front-month future to be sold at the roll date: $75.00
- Next-month future to be bought at the roll date: $78.00
- Over the next month, assume the spot oil price is unchanged and the next-month future converges to $75.00 when it becomes the front-month contract.
- Ignore fees, collateral return, FX movements and margin interest.
Which assessment of the crude oil component is most accurate?
- A. It is in backwardation, producing a positive roll gain because the fund buys the higher-priced contract.
- B. It is a futures-based index exposure in contango, with an expected roll loss of about 3.8% if prices are unchanged.
- C. It is equivalent to physical crude oil exposure, so avoiding delivery removes both delivery risk and roll return.
- D. It is best viewed as commodity-producer equity exposure, with returns driven mainly by company-specific earnings.
Best answer: B
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: A commodity index fund often obtains exposure through futures rather than by owning and storing the underlying commodity. Rolling before delivery avoids the operational problem of taking delivery, but it does not remove roll return. Here, the next-month future is more expensive than the front-month future, so the curve is in contango. A long futures investor rolling from $75 to $78 is exposed to the risk that the new contract falls as it converges toward the unchanged spot/front-month level of $75. The approximate roll effect is \((\$75 - \$78) / \$78 = -3.8\%\). Front-month roll strategies can therefore perform poorly in persistent contango even when the spot commodity price is unchanged.
- Physical ownership and futures index exposure are different; avoiding delivery does not eliminate roll effects.
- Buying the higher-priced deferred contract is contango, not backwardation, and is negative for a long roll if prices do not rise.
- Shares in commodity producers are individual equity exposures, not direct commodity futures exposure.
The roll places the fund in the $78 contract that is assumed to converge to $75, a $3 loss or about 3.8% of the futures exposure.
Question 8
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A wealth manager is selecting a benchmark for a physically replicated passive global equity allocation. The fund rules permit only daily traded, exchange-listed equities and cash; derivatives and side-pocket holdings are not permitted.
The provider’s candidate index is built from a broader “global opportunity universe”:
| Candidate index segment | Index weight | Fund can hold? | Expected return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily traded listed equities | 92% | Yes | 6.0% |
| Suspended, private, or very illiquid equities | 8% | No | 9.5% |
The manager can replicate the holdable listed-equity segment with negligible costs and cash drag. The candidate index return is the weighted return of both segments.
Which conclusion best describes the index management issue?
- A. The candidate index is suitable if the manager discloses the restriction, because investability affects implementation but not benchmark selection.
- B. The candidate index is suitable because it captures the broadest opportunity set, and a passive manager should always benchmark to the widest available universe.
- C. The candidate index can be tracked by increasing the listed-equity holdings to 100%, because total equity exposure is then fully invested.
- D. The candidate index is a poor benchmark for this passive mandate because 8% is outside the fund’s investable universe, creating an expected tracking difference of about -0.28 percentage points.
Best answer: D
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: In index management, the index is not just a performance yardstick; it is also the portfolio construction target for a passive strategy. The eligible securities, pricing rules, liquidity screens, weighting method, and rebalancing rules therefore need to be consistent with the fund’s investable universe. Here, the fund cannot hold 8% of the candidate index. The expected index return is \(0.92 \times 6.0\% + 0.08 \times 9.5\% = 6.28\%\). The fund can replicate only the 92% listed-equity segment, with an expected return of 6.0%. That creates an expected active return of \(6.0\% - 6.28\% = -0.28\%\), before considering any further tracking variability. A more appropriate passive benchmark would use securities the fund can actually hold under its mandate.
- Benchmarking to the widest opportunity set may be useful for research, but it is not appropriate for a passive product that cannot replicate part of the index.
- Fully investing in listed equities does not recreate the return pattern of the unlisted or illiquid 8% segment.
- Disclosure of a restriction does not remove the structural mismatch between the benchmark and the implementable portfolio.
The index’s expected return is 6.28%, while the fund can earn only 6.0% from the holdable segment, so the non-investable 8% creates an unavoidable expected shortfall.
Question 9
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
An investment committee is reviewing a discretionary portfolio for a UK private client.
Client and mandate:
- £6.5m portfolio with a 12-year horizon, medium-high risk tolerance, and no near-term withdrawals beyond cash already held.
- Strategic allocation: 60% global equities, 25% bonds, 10% alternatives, 5% cash.
- Equity benchmark: MSCI ACWI, with a permitted active risk budget but no intention to make one manager the whole equity exposure.
- Responsible-investment preference: active stewardship and ESG integration, with no requirement for broad exclusions.
Proposed equity manager:
- 30-stock global quality-growth portfolio, active share 86%, expected tracking error 7.5%.
- Top ten holdings are 48% of the fund; largest stock is 8%.
- Uses ESG integration, voting, and engagement reporting.
Which action best balances concentration and diversification if the committee wants genuine active exposure from this manager?
- A. Replace the entire global equity allocation with the fund because high active share is the main source of potential alpha.
- B. Reject the fund solely because a 30-stock portfolio is not diversified enough for any private-client mandate.
- C. Combine several similar quality-growth high-conviction funds to diversify manager names while keeping the same factor style.
- D. Allocate it as a satellite within the global equity sleeve, retain a diversified core, and monitor look-through stock, sector, factor, and tracking-error exposures.
Best answer: D
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: A high-conviction manager is expected to differ meaningfully from the benchmark, so concentration is not automatically a flaw. The portfolio decision is whether the concentration is intentional, sized appropriately, and controlled within the client’s total risk budget. Here, the client can accept some active risk and wants stewardship-led ESG integration, but the mandate does not support handing the whole equity exposure to one 30-stock manager. A core-satellite structure allows the manager to contribute distinct active exposure while the diversified core maintains broad market, sector, country, and factor balance. Ongoing look-through monitoring is essential because several concentrated funds can create hidden overlaps even when manager names differ.
- Replacing the whole equity sleeve would let a few holdings and a quality-growth style bet dominate total equity risk.
- Rejecting any 30-stock fund ignores that focused portfolios can be suitable when position size and risk contribution are controlled.
- Combining similar high-conviction funds may diversify manager labels but can leave common stock, sector, and factor concentrations.
This preserves the intended high-conviction alpha exposure while preventing one concentrated manager from dominating total portfolio risk.
Question 10
Topic: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
A wealth management investment committee is selecting one external manager for the global equity sleeve of a balanced model portfolio.
Mandate requirements:
- Core global equity exposure, benchmarked to MSCI ACWI.
- Target excess return of about 1% per year net of fees over rolling five-year periods.
- Expected tracking error range of 2% to 5%.
- Daily dealing and sufficient capacity for an initial £150 million allocation.
- Client preference for documented voting and engagement rather than broad exclusions.
Due-diligence summary:
| Manager | Performance record | Risk and portfolio | Stewardship and access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northgate Thematic | +3.0% p.a. over 3 years | Tracking error 11%; 40 stocks | Quarterly dealing; near capacity |
| Calder Core | +0.9% p.a. over 7 years | Tracking error 3.2%; 150 stocks | Daily dealing; capacity available; detailed voting and engagement reports |
| LowCost World Index | -0.1% p.a. over 7 years | Tracking error 0.2%; full replication | Daily dealing; voting outsourced; limited engagement reporting |
| Westbrook Opportunities | +1.6% p.a. over 5 years | Tracking error 4.8%; 85 stocks | Daily dealing; lead manager recently left; process being redesigned |
Which manager is the single best fit for the mandate?
- A. Select Westbrook Opportunities.
- B. Select Calder Core.
- C. Select Northgate Thematic.
- D. Select LowCost World Index.
Best answer: B
What this tests: Fund Management, Asset Selection, Stewardship, ESG, and Sustainable Investment
Explanation: Fund manager selection should consider more than headline performance. The manager must fit the role intended in the portfolio, including benchmark alignment, risk budget, liquidity, capacity, process stability, costs, and stewardship evidence. Calder Core is not the highest-returning candidate, but it is the best overall match: its long record is close to the target excess return, its tracking error sits inside the desired range, it provides daily dealing, it has available capacity, and it offers the voting and engagement evidence sought by clients. A core allocation should avoid unintended style, concentration, liquidity, or key-person risks that could make the implemented portfolio diverge from the strategic design.
- Northgate Thematic has strong recent returns, but its high tracking error, concentrated approach, quarterly dealing, and capacity constraint do not fit a core mandate.
- LowCost World Index is liquid and cheap, but it is designed to track rather than outperform and has limited engagement reporting.
- Westbrook Opportunities has acceptable historic performance and risk, but the recent lead-manager departure and redesigned process create material selection risk.
Calder Core most closely matches the return target, tracking-error range, liquidity, capacity, and active stewardship requirements.
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