magazine archive
magazine archive
Funds
Eight fund and trust picks for different types of investors
Thursday 23 Dec 2021Ryan Hughes , head of investment research at AJ Bell, picks eight funds and investment trusts with different risk levels covering bonds, global equities, infrastructure, healthcare and dividends. Cautious investors: Personal Assets Inve stment Trust ( PNL ) 5-year annualised return: 6.68% (source:...
Why machines beat managers in 2021
Thursday 23 Dec 20212021 has been a pretty grim year for active managers, with passive funds ruling the roost and delivering better returns for investors on average. AJ Bell’s latest Manager versus Machine report shows that only a third of active equity funds, 34% to be precise, beat a passive alternative this year...
The most consistent top performing Asian funds
Thursday 09 Dec 2021Consistency in performance is a very useful quality for a fund or investment trust to have, as this translates into the kind of steady returns which can really boost investors’ wealth. Shares has screened the funds and trusts universe to identify Asian-focused collectives which have been top...
How Lindsell Train ran out of steam
Thursday 09 Dec 2021It’s been a tough year for investors in Lindsell Train funds. What’s made significant underperformance this year particularly painful is that investors simply aren’t used to it, given the exceptional track record of the two lead managers, Nick Train and Michael Lindsell. The previous gains made by...
Generous yields from top Asian income funds
Thursday 02 Dec 2021A silver lining of the weak performance of Asian stocks in 2021 is it has pushed up dividend yields. This is reflected in the yields available from UK-domiciled Asian income funds, some of which are running at 6%-plus. The top performing fund on a three-year view is Schroder Asian Income Z Acc (...
Tough year for China funds but longer term many have soared
Thursday 25 Nov 2021The past year’s performance for China-focused funds and investment trusts in general has been disappointing, yet the longer-term track record is quite the opposite. The average return from China open-ended funds over the past 12 months is -3.6%, according to FE Fundinfo. That reflects a regulatory...
Best performing Japan funds and investment trusts
Thursday 18 Nov 2021Fidelity Japan Trust ( FJV ) has the best five-year performance of all Japan-focused investment trusts and funds. It generated a 150.9% total return, which encompasses share price gains and dividends. In comparison, the MSCI Japan index returned 46.7% over the same five-year period, being one of...
Best performing Asian funds and investment trusts
Thursday 11 Nov 2021In response to a reader request, Shares will publish performance tables each week for the main categories of funds and investment trusts, starting with a look at the Asian market. While readers should always appreciate that what’s done well in the past won’t necessarily keep winning in the future,...
10 years of Vanguard LifeStrategy: has it rewarded investors?
Thursday 15 Jul 2021The Vanguard LifeStrategy range of funds has just celebrated 10 years since launching in the UK, over which time it has proven to be a big hit with investors, amassing £29 billion of assets to date. Performance has been strong too, with the LifeStrategy funds beating most active funds in their...
Fundsmith fans who want more tech should look at Blue Whale Growth fund
Thursday 08 Jul 2021F undsmith Equity’s (B41YBW7) strategy of investing in high quality companies has been a big draw for investors, particularly as the fund’s performance has been strong since launch in 2010. While this fund may be serving investors well, some people want to know what else they can add to their...