Give BBH Global Core Select a Second Look

David Kathman: BBH Global Core Select doesn't look all that impressive at first glance. Since it launched in March 2013 it's only attracted a little over $100 million in assets, and it has trailed about three quarters of the world stock category over that time. 

On the plus side, though, it's managed by Tim Hartch and Regina Lombardi, who are part of the team that's guided Silver-rated BBH Core Select to very strong results over the past decade. This fund uses the same basic strategy, which focuses on reasonably priced stocks with good free cash flows and solid balance sheets, but it holds more foreign stocks, at least 40% versus less than 20% in the other fund. That cautious, quality-based approach has made it tough for both of these funds to keep up with their peers over most of the past few years, when risky assets have tended to be the best performers. But BBH Core Select has looked a lot better over the longer term, with 10-year returns that rank in the top 5% of the large-blend category. 

That suggests that Global Core Select is also likely to start looking better once interest rates rise and markets become more normalized. And in any case it's worth keeping an eye on given the pedigree of its managers.