Trustnet：特里·史密斯谈行业需要改进的四件事
这家业内持有最广泛的基金之一——Fundsmith Equity 拥有令人羡慕的过往业绩，直到 2021 年之前几乎堪称完美，那一年市场力量叠加两次时机糟糕的卖出操作拖累了业绩。
One of the industry's most-held funds, Fundsmith Equity has an enviable track record – it was almost perfect until 2021, when a combination of market forces and two badly timed sales impacted performance.
自那以后的三年里，该基金一直未能跑赢 MSCI 世界指数，这也是今年早些时候它首次被 Bestinvest 的“Spot the Dog”报告列入名单的原因。
In the three years since, the fund hasn't managed to beat the MSCI World index, a reason why earlier this year, it was included in Bestinvest's Spot the Dog report for the first time.
下文是资深基金经理特里·史密斯对基金表现不佳与“狗”地位之间关系的辩解，他讨论了投资组合的换手率，并阐述了行业需要改进的领域。
Below, veteran manager Terry Smith justifies the underperformance against its "dog" status, discusses portfolio turnover and elaborates on the areas where the industry needs to improve.
基金与行业及 MSCI 世界指数的三年期表现对比
Performance of fund against sector and MSCI World index over 3yrs
你能描述一下你的投资流程吗？
Can you describe your process?
我们力求买入那些资本回报率高的好公司，因为这是表明它们正在创造价值的财务指标，并且增长来源能让这些高回报得以再投资，实现价值复利。我们尽量不支付过高价格，并力求长期持有。
We seek to buy good companies with a high return on capital employed, because that is the financial metric which shows they are creating value, and a source of growth to allow those high returns to be invested and compound in value. We try not to overpay and seek to hold them for the long term.
投资者为什么要选择你的基金？
Why should investors pick your fund?
我们的目标是运营有史以来最优秀的基金，也就是长期风险调整后回报率最高的基金。
We aim to run the best fund ever, meaning the one with the highest return over the long term, adjusted for risk.
过去 12 至 18 个月里，最好和最差的决策分别是什么？
What were the best and worst calls over the past 12-18 months?
最差的是卖出亚马逊。我们最后一次卖出是在 2023 年 5 月 4 日，股价为每股 83 英镑，此后它又上涨了 74%——而同期 MSCI 世界指数的涨幅为 26%。到 6 月初，股价已达每股 145 英镑。
The worst was selling Amazon. We last sold it on 4 May 2023 at a share price of £83 and since then it rose a further 74% – that's against the 26% growth of the MSCI World index in the same timeframe. At the beginning of June, the price was £145 per share.
最好的是持有 Meta，股价从 185 英镑涨到 386 英镑，回报率达 108%。自 2018 年 2 月首次买入以来，股价已从 129 英镑上涨了近 200%。
The best was holding Meta, which went from £185 to £386, returning 108%. Since we first bought it in February 2018, the share price has risen almost 200% from £129.
为什么基金近期表现不佳？
Why has the fund underperformed of late?
利率在 2021 年末开始上升，对我们持有这类股票的影响格外大。它们是高质量公司，因此平均而言估值高于市场水平。
Interest rates began rising in late 2021 and had a disproportionately large impact on stocks of the sort we own. They are high quality companies and therefore, on average, more highly rated than the market.
但利率上升时，这些股票的价格表现比平均水平更差，就像长期债券在那段时期的表现不如短期债券一样。此外，我对 Adobe 和亚马逊的卖出时机本可以把握得更好。
But the share prices fare worse than the average when rates rise, just as long-dated bonds fare worse than short-dated bonds in those periods. Also, my sales of Adobe and Amazon could have been better timed.
你在短时间内快速买入又卖出这两只股票。换手率是否上升了？
You bought and sold those two stocks in quick succession. Has turnover increased?
最大限度降低投资组合换手率仍然是我们的目标之一。去年为 11.1%，比往常略高一点，但远低于基金经理的平均水平。
Minimising portfolio turnover remains one of our objectives. Last year it was 11.1%, just a little higher than usual and far less than the average fund manager.
2023 年，我们卖出了 Adobe、亚马逊和雅诗兰黛的持仓，买入了宝洁、万豪和飞塔信息。对于换手率并不高的情况来说，这看起来可能涉及不少公司，因为在某些情况下，卖出或买入的持仓规模较小。
In 2023, we sold our stakes in Adobe, Amazon and Estée Lauder and purchased stakes in Procter & Gamble, Marriott and Fortinet. This may seem a lot of names for what is not a lot of turnover as in some cases the size of the holding sold or bought was small.
我们有 10 家公司持有超过 10 年，其中 5 家自 2010 年基金成立以来一直持有。
We have held 10 of our companies for more than 10 years, five of which since inception in 2010.
你对 Bestinvest 报告认定 Fundsmith 是一只“狗”基金有什么看法？
What do you make of Bestinvest's report finding Fundsmith was a 'dog' fund?
Bestinvest 发布报告时，我们在英国主要竞争对手的全球基金在 Bestinvest 选定的时间段内比 Fundsmith Equity 落后 16 个百分点，却未被评为“狗”，这暴露了该方法论的一个明显缺陷。
When Bestinvest issued its report, our main UK competitor's global fund had underperformed Fundsmith Equity by 16 percentage points over the period chosen by Bestinvest but was not rated as a "Dog", which raises an obvious shortcoming of the methodology.
此外，被列入表现不佳的年份之一是 2021 年，那一年基金回报率为 22.1%，仅略落后于 MSCI 世界指数的 22.9%。我觉得那年 22.1% 的回报率不会让多少投资者不满意。
Also, one of the years included as a period of underperformance was 2021, when the fund returned 22.1%, only marginally behind the MSCI World Index that returned 22.9%. I don't think many investors were unhappy with a 22.1% return that year.
我们认为投资者应从长期角度评判我们的回报，自成立以来，该基金累计上涨 594%，年化回报率 15.3%（扣除费用后），而基准 MSCI 世界指数为 11.8%。
We think investors should judge our returns over the long term, and since inception the fund is up 594% or 15.3% on an annualised basis, net of fees, compared with 11.8% for the benchmark MSCI World.
投资者在哪些方面老是出错？
What do investors consistently get wrong?
他们本土偏好太强。为什么英国投资者要投资富时 100 指数？英国只占全球 GDP 的不到 3%。全世界都可以选择。
They have too much of a home bias. Why should investors in the UK invest in the FTSE100? The UK is under 3% of global GDP. There is a whole world to choose from.
行业在哪些领域需要改进？
In what areas does the industry need to improve?
首先是透明度，比如确保投资者能看到他们被收取了多少费用——不只是管理费，还包括直接向基金收取而不是通过管理公司收取的管理费，以及交易成本。
Firstly, transparency, for example making sure that investors can see how much they are being charged – not just in terms of management fees but also charging admin fees direct to the fund and not via the management company, and dealing costs.
为什么有些平台基本上只是提供软件，却按资产规模收取费用？
Why are there ad valorem charges for some platforms which basically supply software?
其次，用通俗易懂的语言进行直接明了的沟通，解释基金目标和发生了什么。
Secondly, direct and clear communications explaining fund objectives and what has happened in plain language.
此外，基金数量太多，投资者和他们投资的公司之间的中介也太多。中介总是增加成本。
There are also far too many funds and too many intermediaries between the investor and the companies they invest in. Intermediaries always add costs.
你在基金管理之外做些什么？
What do you do outside of fund management?
我喜欢保持健康，练习泰拳。我有历史学学位，仍在钻研这门学问。我还潜水。
I like to keep fit and practice Muay Thai. I have a history degree and still study the subject. I scuba dive.