Top global stocks
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Global giants are in high demand. Sylvia Liber
If you want to bag yourself a bargain this Christmas, take a look at global stocks. With the local dollar trading above $US1, Aussie investors have a rare opportunity to pick up global brand names at great price. And while there’s no sign of the local currency dropping sharply in the coming two to three years, when it does, your holdings in overseas listed companies will receive a free boost.
If the world is your oyster, you still might like some help to find the pearls. So we’ve had a look at the top five holdings of five of the country’s leading global equity funds to see which names the experts like.
And as the table below shows, they are enthusiastic on the pharmaceutical sector (at the very bottom you can also see how the five funds have performed over the past one, three, and five years). Three of the funds hold Johnson & Johnson, and two hold Swiss giant Novartis, along with France’s Sanofi and Switzerland’s Roche. As expected, Google, Apple and eBay all feature as well. South Korea’s Samsung also gets a guernsey.
Woolworth’s home improvement partner Lowe’s also scores a couple of mentions, perhaps a bet on the improving home sector in the US.
| Wingate Global Equity Fund | ||
| Top holdings | Country | Industry |
| Baxter International | US | Health care |
| Johnson & Johnson | US | Pharma |
| Novartis | Switzerland | Pharma |
| Reed Elsevier | Netherlands | Publishing |
| Lowe's | US | Home improvement |
| Magellan Global Fund | ||
| Top holdings | Country | Industry |
| Danone | France | Consumer staples |
| eBay | US | Tech |
| US | Tech | |
| Lowe's | US | Home improvement |
| McDonald's | US | Fast food |
| Five Oceans World Fund | ||
| Top holdings | Country | Industry |
| Apple | US | Tech |
| Danaher Corp | US | Industrials |
| Varian Medical Systems | US | Health care |
| Wells Fargo & Co | US | Financials |
| Samsung | South Korea | Tech |
| Aberdeen International Equity Fund | ||
| Top holdings | Country | Industry |
| Taiwan Semiconductor | Taiwan | Tech |
| Vodafone | UK | Telco |
| Johnson & Johnson | US | Pharma |
| Roche Holding | Switzerland | Pharma |
| Novartis | Switzerland | Pharma |
| Fidelity Global Equities Fund | ||
| Top holdings | Country | Industry |
| Johnson & Johnson | US | Pharma |
| HSBC Holdings | UK | Financials |
| Sanofi | France | Pharma |
| Capital One Finance | US | Financials |
| US | Tech | |
| Performance figures for the five global funds | |||
| Fund name | 1-yr (%) | 3-yr (%) | 5-yr (%) |
| Magellan Global Fund* | 20.8 | 10.3 | 6.2 |
| Wingate Global Equity Fund | 10.7 | 8.8 | N/a |
| Fidelity Global Equities Fund | 13.3 | 5.8 | -3.3 |
| Aberdeen Int'l Equity Fund | 12.2 | 4.8 | -2.0 |
| Five Oceans World Fund | 6.3 | 3.1 | 0.0 |
| All figures net of manager's fees and expenses. Returns to October 31, except *to November 30. | |||
Patrick Commins Smart Investor
