Four gold funds feature in the top 10, chunky profits in one month alone. We highlighted the odds moving in favour of gold
back in August. But did not (and still don’t) believe it is more than a short-term punt, as the longer-term trend in gold remains down. Nonetheless, the gold bugs will be out in force and could give some more momentum to this rally in the short term.
A great month for City Financial. But it does also serve to highlight (again!) that the fund is in completely the wrong sector.
The third of three dogs that have barked this month is Latin America. What can I say? If you have been following events in Brazil you know this action is best observed from the investment side-lines.
There is some real damage in the laggards. Technology has been battered and Baillie Gifford as a house were very heavily into tech. Not surprisingly four BG funds feature, albeit they are diverse geographically, if not by sector.
Small caps are also leading the way lower. We often refer to them as the canaries in the coalmine, giving an early warning of weakness ahead as investors begin to lose faith in their domestic economies, which is what the small caps represent.
The AXA Biotech fund has suffered from both being a form of tech fund and by virtue of a decent small cap weighting.
Biotech, small cap, and China are obvious areas to look for opportunities on very sharp falls, and are great long-term opportunities for drip-feeding investors.
FURTHER READING
What's Hot
| Name |
Sector |
Last Month Performance |
| City Financial Absolute Equity |
Targeted Absolute Return |
11.01 |
| Investec Global Gold |
Specialist |
8.54 |
| Quilter Investors Precious Metals Equity |
Specialist |
6.24 |
| BlackRock Gold & General |
Specialist |
6.17 |
| LF Ruffer Gold |
Specialist |
5.10 |
| Thesis TM Sanditon European Select |
Targeted Absolute Return |
4.99 |
| Majedie Tortoise |
Targeted Absolute Return |
4.58 |
| Threadneedle Latin America |
Specialist |
3.79 |
| Aberdeen Latin American Equity |
Specialist |
3.51 |
| Templeton Global Total Return Bond |
Global Bonds |
2.47 |
What's Not
| Name |
Sector |
Last Month Performance |
| JPM US Smaller Companies |
North American Smaller Companies |
-16.39 |
| Baillie Gifford Global Discovery |
Global |
-16.23 |
| JPM Japan |
Japan |
-15.09 |
| Baillie Gifford Greater China |
China/Greater China |
-15.01 |
| Baillie Gifford Long Term Global Growth Investment |
Global |
-14.91 |
| L&G European Trust |
Europe Excluding UK |
-14.84 |
| Marlborough UK Multi-Cap Growth |
UK All Companies |
-14.84 |
| Baillie Gifford American |
North America |
-14.50 |
| AXA Framlington Biotech |
Specialist |
-14.42 |
| Standard Life Investments Global Smaller Companies |
Global |
-14.42 |