Of those funds, arguably only M&G Recovery is weighed down by its size – it has lost 4% over the past year whereas the others have all delivered a positive return. Woodford (17%) and Schroders (23%) were the stars over 12 months.
Over five years, it’s JOHCM (110%) and BlackRock (97%) that have delivered the most impressive total returns, despite their size.
A real GEM
An interesting case is First State Global Emerging Market Leaders, which has easily outperformed its benchmark (MSCI Emerging Markets, 17%) over five years at 47%. This is despite a turn in sentiment towards emerging markets, and in particular global emerging market funds, from the wealth manager community.
India has been a big bet for manager Jonathan Asante at 21.5% of the fund, while China is just 7.6%.
The First State strategy is now soft closed, of course, a policy that has become increasingly popular across the retail fund universe, and something that wealth manager community should welcome.
The upshot of all this is SHAM is sticking with the behemoths for the time being, while keeping a close eye on performance. It’s arguable that bigger really is the better bet in times like these, though an end to the bull run could see hefty outflows, excepting perhaps absolute return funds.
Anyway, it’s getting hot in here so I’ll bring this week’s ramblings to a close. Sit back with your Soda Stream and watch the dosh roll in. Loadsamoney!
SHAM is the continuing adventures of a financial journalist and his meagre ISA. Follow at @SHAMinvestor
