Commentary
Once again 20 funds from last month's 30 Best of the Best (BOTB) Selection regained their position in this month's shortlist. March proved a tricky investment market with US and Japanese equities being laggards while technology and UK Smaller Companies funds were among the sectors to eke out the biggest profit. This was a similar pattern to February's but with the exception that US equities underperformed.
Once again a number of the funds that have dropped out of the BOTB only just missed being included and remain in the BFBS tables. They may return to the fold in the near future just like JOHCM UK Equity Income has this month. The underlying asset mix this month hasn't changed radically with the most noteworthy changes being the reintroduction of an emerging market fund as well as the slightly reduced exposure to Japanese equities. European equities continue to have less significance in the portfolio than either UK or US equities. In terms of direct equity exposure the portfolio is still around 70%, on a par with last month.
At the foot of this article you can see how the 80-20 Investor Portfolio has continued to outperform the professional fund managers as well as the market since its launch over two and a half years ago.
Below I list this month's selection in full with the 20 funds that regained their place in black while the new additions are in green. As usual, I have included the full list sorted alphabetically by name and then by risk category.
April's Best of the Best Selection - (A-Z by fund name)
(funds unchanged from last month are in black while new additions are in green)
| Name | Sector | ISIN Code | Risk Level |
| 7IM - AAP Income | Mixed Investment 0%-35% Shares | GB0033954024 | Low risk |
| Artemis - Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B5N99561 | Medium risk |
| Artemis - Monthly Distribution | Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares | GB00B6TK3R06 | Low risk |
| AXA - Framlington Global Technology | Technology & Telecommunication | GB00B4W52V57 | High risk |
| AXA - Global High Income | Sterling High Yield | GB00B0T9V375 | Low risk |
| BlackRock - US Dynamic | North America | GB00B87XJQ69 | Medium risk |
| Cavendish - AIM | UK Smaller Companies | GB00B0JX3X39 | High risk |
| Cavendish - Technology | Technology & Telecommunication | GB00B60SMN24 | High risk |
| EdenTree - Amity European | Europe Excluding UK | GB0008448333 | High risk |
| Fidelity - Global High Yield | Sterling High Yield | GB00B7K7SQ18 | Low risk |
| Fidelity - Global Special Situations | Global | GB00B8HT7153 | High risk |
| FP - Apollo Multi Asset Cautious | Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares | GB00B3FPDY55 | Low risk |
| Investec - Cautious Managed | Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares | GB00B8NZ3M08 | Low risk |
| JOHCM - UK Equity Income | UK Equity Income | GB00B03KR500 | Medium risk |
| M&G - Recovery | UK All Companies | GB00B7759Y38 | Medium risk |
| Man GLG - Japan Core Alpha | Japan | GB00B3F46Y30 | High risk |
| Marlborough - European Multi-Cap | Europe Excluding UK | GB0001719730 | High risk |
| Marlborough - Far East Growth | Asia Pacific Excluding Japan | GB00B0NVCN62 | High risk |
| Old Mutual - Global Equity | Global | GB00B1XG8F22 | Medium risk |
| Old Mutual - North American Equity | North America | GB00B1XG8M98 | Medium risk |
| Premier - Diversified | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | GB00B8BJV423 | Low risk |
| R&M - UK Equity Long Term Recovery | UK All Companies | GB00B614J053 | Medium risk |
| S&W - Saltus Wealth | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B6RLZP73 | Low risk |
| Sarasin - Fund of Funds - Global Equity | Flexible Investment | GB00B7YYSB32 | Medium risk |
| Schroder - High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00B83RDY83 | Low risk |
| Schroder - UK Dynamic Smaller Companies | UK Smaller Companies | GB0007220360 | High risk |
| TB Saracen - Global Income & Growth | Global Equity Income | GB00B8MG4091 | Medium risk |
| Templeton - Global Total Return Bond | Global Bonds | GB00BKT0HX25 | Low risk |
| UBS - Emerging Markets Equity Income | Global Emerging Markets | GB00B8BDQ491 | High risk |
| Wise Investments - TB Wise Income | Flexible Investment | GB00B0LJ0160 | Medium risk |
April's Best of the Best Selection - (grouped by risk)
Here is April's shortlist grouped by their risk category (funds unchanged from last month are in black while new additions are in green):
| Name | Sector | ISIN Code | Risk Level |
| 7IM - AAP Income | Mixed Investment 0%-35% Shares | GB0033954024 | Low risk |
| Artemis - Monthly Distribution | Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares | GB00B6TK3R06 | Low risk |
| AXA - Global High Income | Sterling High Yield | GB00B0T9V375 | Low risk |
| Fidelity - Global High Yield | Sterling High Yield | GB00B7K7SQ18 | Low risk |
| FP - Apollo Multi Asset Cautious | Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares | GB00B3FPDY55 | Low risk |
| Investec - Cautious Managed | Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares | GB00B8NZ3M08 | Low risk |
| Premier - Diversified | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | GB00B8BJV423 | Low risk |
| S&W - Saltus Wealth | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B6RLZP73 | Low risk |
| Schroder - High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00B83RDY83 | Low risk |
| Templeton - Global Total Return Bond | Global Bonds | GB00BKT0HX25 | Low risk |
| Artemis - Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B5N99561 | Medium risk |
| BlackRock - US Dynamic | North America | GB00B87XJQ69 | Medium risk |
| JOHCM - UK Equity Income | UK Equity Income | GB00B03KR500 | Medium risk |
| M&G - Recovery | UK All Companies | GB00B7759Y38 | Medium risk |
| Old Mutual - Global Equity | Global | GB00B1XG8F22 | Medium risk |
| Old Mutual - North American Equity | North America | GB00B1XG8M98 | Medium risk |
| R&M - UK Equity Long Term Recovery | UK All Companies | GB00B614J053 | Medium risk |
| Sarasin - Fund of Funds - Global Equity | Flexible Investment | GB00B7YYSB32 | Medium risk |
| TB Saracen - Global Income & Growth | Global Equity Income | GB00B8MG4091 | Medium risk |
| Wise Investments - TB Wise Income | Flexible Investment | GB00B0LJ0160 | Medium risk |
| AXA - Framlington Global Technology | Technology & Telecommunication | GB00B4W52V57 | High risk |
| Cavendish - AIM | UK Smaller Companies | GB00B0JX3X39 | High risk |
| Cavendish - Technology | Technology & Telecommunication | GB00B60SMN24 | High risk |
| EdenTree - Amity European | Europe Excluding UK | GB0008448333 | High risk |
| Fidelity - Global Special Situations | Global | GB00B8HT7153 | High risk |
| Man GLG - Japan Core Alpha | Japan | GB00B3F46Y30 | High risk |
| Marlborough - European Multi-Cap | Europe Excluding UK | GB0001719730 | High risk |
| Marlborough - Far East Growth | Asia Pacific Excluding Japan | GB00B0NVCN62 | High risk |
| Schroder - UK Dynamic Smaller Companies | UK Smaller Companies | GB0007220360 | High risk |
| UBS - Emerging Markets Equity Income | Global Emerging Markets | GB00B8BDQ491 | High risk |
The funds that dropped out of the Best of the Best Selection
For reference the funds from last month that dropped out of the 80-20 Investor Best of the Best list are listed below. Many of them remain in the Best funds by Sector selection:
| Name | Sector | ISIN Code | Risk Level |
| 7IM - Unconstrained | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B75MS619 | Low risk |
| CF - Morant Wright Japan | Japan | GB0033010017 | High risk |
| Henderson - Global Technology | Technology & Telecom | GB0007698847 | High risk |
| M&G - Global Dividend | Global | GB00B46J9127 | Medium risk |
| Neptune - Global Alpha | Flexible Investment | GB0031190555 | Medium risk |
| Old Mutual - Cirilium Moderate | Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares | GB00B2Q8TP98 | Low risk |
| Royal London - US Growth Trust | North America | GB0030038359 | Medium risk |
| Schroder - Tokyo | Japan | GB00B4SZR818 | High risk |
| UBS - US Equity | North America | GB00B7V68L26 | Medium risk |
| Wise Investments - TB Wise Investment | Flexible Investment | GB0034272533 | Medium risk |
The Asset mix
The current asset mix of the new Best of the Best Selection is shown below with last month's figures in brackets:
- Global Fixed Interest 12% (12%)
- Alternatives 14% (11%) - mostly absolute return strategies
- UK Corporate Fixed Interest (i.e UK bonds) 0% (2%)
- Emerging Market Fixed Interest 2% (0%)
- North American Equities 18% (22%)
- European Equities 7% (7%)
- Japanese Equities 6% (11%)
- Property 0% (0%)
- UK Equities 20% (18%)
- Cash 4% (4%)
- Asian equities 0% (0%)
- Asia Pacific Emerging equities 0% (0%)
- Other international equities 17% (13%) which includes Asian equities
80-20 Investor's outperformance continues
As you know the Best of the Best Selection is the shortlist of the best funds highlighted by our 80-20 Investor algorithm split into high, medium and low risk categories. This shortlist is updated at the start of every month.
The green line in the chart below (click to enlarge) shows how a portfolio would have performed since inception (in August 2014) if it had been split equally between the Best of the Best Selection funds and then switched each month when each new shortlist was published. I have also charted the performance against that of the FTSE 100 (the black line) and the average cautious managed fund (blue line) and the average managed fund with up to 85% equity exposure (red line). In reality the 80-20 Investor's asset allocation typically lies between these two as it usually has 60-85% exposure to equities at any one time. So they provide a good comparison of how fund managers with a similar remit have fared over the same period.
As you can see, since launch in August 2014 the 80-20 Investor portfolio has HUGELY outperformed the average managed fund and the market. The large spike in performance in the 80-20 Investor portfolio on the right hand side of the chart is where the portfolio rallied after the Brexit referendum while global markets plummeted.
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