The AIM International Equity Fund has been in existence since September 20, 2008 (the week after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and AIG). The fund started with $500,000 from the Marquette University Endowment (the funds were initially invested in iShares EFEA and EM ETFs) and before the AIM students could even begin to add individual securities the new fund was off over 20%! On November 20, 2008 (just two months after the inception of the fund and with only 7 individual ADRs added to the fund), the AIM International Fund was down by nearly than 40%. The December 2008 rally allowed the fund to close down by
only 23% for the quarter.
Despite the rocky start, the AIM International Fund has been a stellar performer. Since inception through 10/31/2010, the fund is up 8.2% on an annualized basis versus 4.3% for the
S&P ADR Index (benchmark). The following graphs display some of the basic information about the international fund versus the benchmark.
The Fund would be considered as a Large-Mid Cap Balanced Equity portfolio according to Morningstar - while the benchmark is much larger and tilted toward value stocks.
The AIM International Fund from a sector view is much more aligned with the benchmark - both of which are more heavily tilted toward manufacturing and less toward information technology.
The AIM International Fund is clearly under-weighted in European stocks (especially United Kingdom holdings) and is significantly over-weighted in Asia Emerging (China) and Latin America stocks versus the benchmark.
The graph above shows the AIM Fund's overall tilt toward emerging market holdings versus the S&P ADR and the smaller average market capitalization size of the holdings ($10B v. $62B).
The AIM International Fund's holdings sport higher relative valuations; however, the stocks in the portfolio also have significantly stronger income statement and balance sheet ratios. Overall, the AIM Fund operates within the Investment Policy Statement guidelines and yet offers an opportunity to generate alpha by tilting the portfolio toward areas of long-term growth (i.e. emerging Asia and Latin America). The table below shows the largest holdings in the Fund as of November 14, 2010.
