The three best-performing stocks on the index are all financials, as are six of the top-10.
Lloyds tops the list, having gained 83.1 per cent year-to-date. This followed a landslide fall of 60.64 per cent in 2011, which made it one of that year’s worst performers.
Ten best-performing stocks of 2012
| Name | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Lloyds Grp | 80.8 |
| Standard Life | 71.04 |
| HargreavesLansdown | 68.68 |
| Whitbread | 58.8 |
| Intertek Group | 53.2 |
| ITV | 52.16 |
| Barclays | 49.91 |
| Royal Bank Scot | 49.56 |
| Old Mutual | 49.27 |
| Legal & General Group | 48.12 |
Source: FE Analytics
Fidelity’s Sanjeev Shah is among a number of high-profile managers to hold the stock in their top-10. FE Analytics data suggests the manager’s contrarian stance on the banks has paid off.
The manager told FE Trustnet this week that he is backing HSBC as the next bank to outperform, thanks to its strong capital and funding position.
Shah also holds ITV, one of the few non-financial stocks on the list, which has returned 52.16 per cent year-to-date.
Julie Dean, manager of the five crown-rated Cazenove UK Opportunities fund, has also stuck by Lloyds.
Our data shows it is the largest holding in her fund, worth 4.18 per cent of its total assets. The manager also holds 3.29 per cent in Legal & General, which is the 10th best-performing stock of 2012.
Both Fidelity Special Situations and Cazenove UK Opportunities are top-quartile performers in the IMA UK All Companies sector over the past year.
Performance of funds vs sector and index in 2012
Source: FE Analytics
Standard Life – with returns of 71.04 per cent – and Aberdeen Asset Management – which has made 70.98 per cent – are the two next-best performers.
Data from FE Analytics shows that Standard Life’s success follows two years of reasonably flat performance, with returns for 2010 and 2011 at 5.32 per cent and 1.93 per cent respectively.
JOHCM UK Dynamic and JOHCM UK Growth both hold large positions in Standard Life and both are top-quartile performers in the IMA UK All Companies sector over the past year.
Aberdeen, on the other hand, has performed well for the last three calendar years, making 56.92 per cent in 2010 and 8.96 per cent in 2011 while the index lost 2.18 per cent.
Only 11 funds hold Standard Life in their top-10, according to FE Analytics, and 15 Aberdeen, reflecting concerns about the financial sector as a whole.
Fund platform Hargreaves Lansdown also appears on the list, having made 68.68 per cent.
Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, said: "Hargreaves enjoys a unique position in the UK savings market [its Vantage platform bumping revenues], a strong cash position and long-term structural drivers of growth."
"Aberdeen on the other hand is regarded by many analysts as a financially strong company with double-digit EPS growth; however the asset manager this year witnessed lower performance fee revenue, higher marketing and other costs, which has led to EPS downgrades for the year ahead."
"Interestingly, investors would have made a better return on their investment by going long Hargreaves and Aberdeen stock this year versus using the two as their asset managers."
Barclays and RBS have both seen share price rises of over 50 per cent this year, according to our data, while insurer and fund provider Old Mutual has made 49.1 per cent, a shade ahead of rival Legal & General.
The year as a whole was much better for the market, with the FTSE 100 making 10.21 per cent following a loss last year.
Only 19 stocks on the index finished the year down, according to FE Analytics data, with miners and commodity producers the worst hit.
Worst-performing stocks of 2012
| Name | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Eurasian Natural Resources | -56.42 |
| Melrose Industries | -31.43 |
| BG Group | -24.13 |
| Evraz | -23.75 |
| Anglo American | -20.15 |
| Aggreko | -16.7 |
| Morrison (WM.)Suprmrkts | -15.19 |
| Kazakhmys | -14.06 |
| Tullow Oil | -13.34 |
| Tesco | -11.3 |
Source: FE Analytics
Eurasian Natural Resources brings up the rear, having lost 56.42 per cent, far more than the next-worst performer Melrose Industries, which finished the year 31.43 per cent down.
Eurasian Natural Resources is a mining and resources company created from privatised Kazakhstani assets after the fall of communism.
It has large operations in Africa as well as in Central Asia, and an FE Risk Score of 287 – where 100 is fixed at the level of the FTSE 100.
Only JPM Global Mining, a £4.2m portfolio launched in February 2011, holds it in its top-10; the portfolio has had a difficult year, losing 10.27 per cent.
The poor results are not surprising given the sector has done badly as a whole; Eurasian Natural Resources is joined on the list by fellow miner Evraz, down 23.75 per cent on the year.
Anglo American is also down 20.15 per cent following a year in which chief executive Cynthia McKinney resigned due to shareholder disquiet and poor results.
Rundle said: "With a new chief executive due next year, investors are hopeful a change in leadership could turn around the miners’ fortunes."
"That said, the shares are trading at a premium to their peer group and investors are likely to remain unconvinced over the company’s story until a new chief executive takes over and makes the market think otherwise."
"The slowdown in China and India and decline in Europe have pressured mining shares throughout the year," he added.
"For Evraz, the stock is highly leveraged and cyclical given the slowdown in global economic growth, thus the underperformance of the stock. Furthermore, the lack of visibility over the company’s strategy gives investors little faith in the company."
"For Eurasian Natural Resources, the rise in the company’s new debt worries the market. ENRC’s net debt has increased from approximately $150m in the first half of 2011 to around $3.8bn by the end of Q3 2012."
"Analysts expect net debt to increase further due to capex, acquisitions and also settlements for the company’s African copper business. Further increases in net debt are likely to push the miners’ shares lower in the year ahead."