L&G has also produced the second best performer over the same period. The firm’s Overseas Bond, which has returned 32.9 per cent, is one of four overseas funds in the top six. The domination of funds with international exposure outside the UK is indicated by the fact that the top twenty performers also includes seven global and two emerging market funds. All but one of the top twenty are fixed interest funds.
Source: Trustnet.com
Top-20 life funds – 1 yr
Source: Trustnet.com
The worst performers are dominated by funds with exposure to Eastern Europe and in particular Russian equities, reflecting the rapid slowdown in the country’s economy and continuing volatility of Russian investment markets. Fitch Ratings recently assigned a negative rating outlook to the Russia insurance sector.
Bottom-20 life funds – 1 yr
Source: Trustnet.com
If we take a snapshot of the sector after six months a very different picture emerges with commodity/energy life funds exposed to gold in particular benefitting from the strong performance of the asset during this period. All the top seven are gold funds and fifteen of the top twenty funds have generated returns higher than 70 per cent.
Top twenty funds – 6 mths
Source: Trustnet.com
The worst performers in the sector over the last six months are dominated by property funds with 92 of the bottom 100 funds exposed to the battered property market. International property funds have been particularly badly hit with six of the bottom ten funds of this type run by New Star generating returns between -27 per cent and -24.9 per cent.
Bottom-20 funds – 6 mths
| Fund | Focus | % 6-mths |
| UBS Life Structured Credit A | Structured Products | -57.7 |
| AXA Assurance Property Acc | Property | -34.6 |
| AXA Equity & Law Property Acc | Property | -34.6 |
| AXA New Star Int Property | Property | -31.2 |
| Zurich Sterling New Star International Property | Property | -31.1 |
| AIG (LUX) Diversified Private Equity | Equity | -29.5 |
| FP New Star International Property GBP | Property | -27.0 |
| NU New Star International Property S4 | Property | -26.5 |
| HLL New Star International Property | Property | -26.0 |
| L&G New Star International Property | Property | -24.9 |
| Pru New Star International Property 2 | Property | -24.8 |
| Phoenix Cent Property OM1 | Property | -23.8 |
| Barclays Property 1 Acc | Property | -23.5 |
| Phoenix Property S2 | Property | -23.1 |
| Phoenix Option Property Ser A | Property | -23.0 |
| Phoenix ULA Property | Property | -23.0 |
| Winterthur New Star International Property Acc | Property | -22.9 |
| Phoenix Property Growth Property S3 | Property | -22.8 |
| Phoenix RSALI Property | Property | -22.6 |
| AIG New Star International Property | Property | -22.0 |
Source: Trustnet.com