Brown Advisory Global Leaders Sustainable, GQG Partners US Equity and JPM Global Macro Sustainable are some of the new entrants in Bestinvest’s bi-annual Best Funds List, published today (25 March).
The list is comprised using the firm’s ’10 commandments’ framework, which include finding active managers which don’t hug the benchmark, who invest their own money into their funds, have a stable and long-term management team and exhibit “crystal clear objectives”. The resulting list comprises 92 actively-managed funds, and 30 passive vehicles.
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Some 17 funds dropped out of the latest list despite having held a spot in September 2023. These include Fundsmith Equity, WS Lindsell Train UK Equity, Baillie Gifford’s Global Discovery and Japanese funds, and Findlay Park American.
Other funds dropped from the list include: Rathbone Ethical Bond; Aubrey Global Emerging Markets Opportunities; AXA Framlington UK Mid Cap; Barings Europe Select Trust; JPM Japan, Ninety One Global Environment; Liontrust UK Ethical; CT Responsible Global Equity and Premier Miton UK Growth.
Two investment companies lost their place – HICL Infrastructure and SDCL Energy Efficiency Income – while Ishares FTSE 250 ETF was the only passive vehicle to drop out.
Winners
In terms of UK equity funds, Liontrust UK Growth, Artemis UK Select and the Mercentile investment trust were featured in the top spot for growth, while BlackRock UK Income, Montanaro UK Income and the Murray Income trust stood out for those seeking dividend pay-outs.
Favoured bond funds for the six months to the end of February 2023 were Janus Henderson Strategic Bond and TwentyFour Absolute Return Credit, while Troy’s Trojan fund, Lazard Rathmore Alternative and TM Fulcrum Diversified Absolute Return were the research team’s top picks among multi-asset and Targeted Absolute Return mandates.
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Preferred global funds were GuardCap Global Equity, Brown Advisory Global Leaders and Guinness Global Equity Income, while Bestinvest’s top emerging market and Asia Pacific picks were Schroder ISF Asian Total Return and Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Sustainability.
In the US, the firm’s research team noted that Premier Miton US Opportunities, Loomis Sayles US Equity Leaders and the Dodge & Cox Worldwide US Stock fund presented stand-out opportunities for investors.
Discussing the report, Jason Hollands, managing director of Bestinvest, said: “Each sector typically has a dedicated team of half-a-dozen investment managers involved in researching and monitoring the investment options available – that is a huge amount of time and expertise focused on finding the right funds.
“Our investment specialists meet the fund managers to grill them, understand their philosophy and approach, and the type of market environment that would favour their style. They also scrutinise the risk management process, what might trigger a sale of holding, and evaluate what resources are available to support them as well as assess whether there are any size or liquidity constraints around how scalable the strategy of the fund is.
“With 122 investment options on the latest Best Funds List across a wide range of sectors, investors must still decide what works for their own portfolio, time horizon, goals and risk profile – but we hope this acts as a launch pad for those looking for ideas and inspiration to spruce up their portfolios.”
