What’s Hot, What’s Not: Japan and UK up, Gilts down

Posted by: Sam Lees

• Liontrust Japan Opportunities (the renamed Neptune Japan Opportunities fund following Liontrust’s acquisition of Neptune) tops the table.
• Two UK All Companies funds and two UK Smaller Companies funds make the top table. (Although L&G UK Alpha Trust is more like a smaller company fund with 74% in small and micro caps).
• We review the latest funds and numbers for the Dynamic UK Portfolio here. 
• A UK property shares fund is also in the Hot table. These returns are driven by the share prices of property companies and so have equity-like volatility vs. the steadier returns of bricks-and-mortar property funds. 
• An absolute return fund is back in the top table. We don’t like to see these kinds of ups and downs from a fund in a supposedly lower risk sector. Buyer beware. 
• A flexible investment fund, a climate change fund and a biotech fund make up the rest of the top funds. 
• We’ve written a lot on biotech (see here). Great potential and great returns but very volatile.

• Gilt and Index-Linked Gilt funds make up 80% of the bottom 10 funds.
• The worst fund - Vanguard UK Inflation-Linked Gilt Index – was up over 10% during the last 6 months but fell sharply since September.
• A US fund and a global bond fund make up the rest of the bottom table.
• The Fidelity fund is a Value fund – buying what the market thinks is cheap without good reason – and doesn’t hold any of the favoured Growth stocks (Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google).
• This might surprise you, after the strong Value bounce earlier in September - but the recovery has not been sustained.
• For more on Value investing have a look at our recent blog.

• The 5 Deadly Sins
  
• Dynamic Global Portfolio review 
• The Age Guide Portfolio
  

 

What's Hot
Name	Sector	Last Month Performance
Liontrust Japan Opportunities	Japan	4.6
VT Teviot UK Smaller Companies	UK Smaller Companies	4.4
LF Odey Absolute Return	Targeted Absolute Return	4.1
ASI UK Real Estate Share TR	Property Other	4.0
LF Tellworth UK Smaller Companies	UK Smaller Companies	3.5
L&G UK Alpha Trust	UK All Companies	3.4
Virgin Climate Change	Europe Including UK	3.3
Courtiers Total Return Growth	Flexible Investment	3.3
AXA Framlington Biotech	Specialist	3.3
Unicorn UK Growth TR	UK All Companies	3.3

 

What's Not
Name	Sector	Last Month Performance
Vanguard UK Inflation-Linked Gilt Index	UK Index Linked Gilts	-8.3
Janus Henderson Index-Linked Bond	UK Index Linked Gilts	-7.8
AXA Sterling Index Linked Bond	UK Index Linked Gilts	-7.8
iShares Index Linked Gilt Index (UK)	UK Index Linked Gilts	-5.8
Threadneedle UK Index Linked	UK Index Linked Gilts	-5.2
L&G All Stocks Index Linked Gilt Idx Trust	UK Index Linked Gilts	-5.2
Vanguard UK Long Duration Gilt Index	UK Gilts	-5.1
Fidelity American Special Situations	North America	-5.1
Janus Henderson Inst Overseas Bond	Global Bonds	-5.0
Royal London Index Linked TR	UK Index Linked Gilts	-5.0