80-20 Investor Best of the Best Selection – April 2026 Update

Commentary

March was a difficult month for investors, where the only asset not to lose money was cash. Both bond and equity markets fell in tandem as the war in the Middle East first erupted and then escalated. It meant that the typical 60% equity / 40% bond portfolio had its worst month since the energy crisis in 2022. With Trump pulling the rug from under markets and reversing many of the investment trends of 2025 and early 2026, it's no wonder that only 12 funds from March retained their position in April's BOTB.

Despite the market collapse, the BOTB still outperformed one of its benchmarks and performed in line with the other. It suggests that the asset mix (particularly its exposure to emerging market and Japanese equities) proved a drag on performance, although the individual funds themselves within the BOTB performed better than their respective peers on the whole.

Digging deeper into the performance of individual funds, WS Guinness Global Energy was not only the standout performer in March's BOTB but also one of the few funds available to UK investors that made money during March, thanks to the soaring price of oil. BlackRock Natural Resources almost managed to break even, despite its exposure to gold miners which had a tough month.

Fund	March 2026 % return
WS Guinness Global Energy	16.35
BlackRock Natural Resources	-0.66
Premier Miton Defensive Multi Asset	-1.95
Man Sterling Corporate Bond Fund	-2.85
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	-3.54

At the other end of the scale, funds with exposure to Asian and Emerging markets fared the worst as these markets endured their worst monthly performance since the financial crisis, due to their economies' over-reliance on Middle Eastern oil.

Fund	March 2026 % return
Fidelity Emerging Markets	-12.39
Schroder Global Emerging Markets	-12.42
Barings Eastern Trust	-12.67
Fidelity Asia	-13.24
Baillie Gifford Pacific	-14.23

In terms of asset mix, April's BOTB is still broadly the same as March's, with the same level of equity exposure, but the underlying funds have changed. Growth-oriented funds have been replaced with equity income funds, which tend to invest in reliable dividend-paying companies from sectors including pharmaceuticals and tobacco producers. April's BOTB still has significant exposure to Asian and Emerging market equities, despite their slump in March, as the 80-20 algorithm measures momentum beyond just short-term price moves. Having said that, the BOTB's exposure to these asset classes has slightly decreased, as is also the case with Japanese equities, for the benefit of US equities. US equities exposure has risen from 5% in March to 12% in April's BOTB.

The full asset breakdown can be found at the foot of this article.

Below I list this month's selection in full, with the 12 funds that retained 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
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	Global	GB00B2PLJP95	Higher risk
AXA Framlington Biotech	Specialist	GB00B784NS11	Higher risk
BlackRock Natural Resources	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Asian Income	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B8KT3V48	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Emerging Income	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B8GGF462	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Income	Infrastructure	GB00BDR8GH68	Medium risk
BNY Mellon Inflation Linked Corporate Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B8HY5051	Lower risk
BNY Mellon Real Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B8GG4B61	Lower risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher risk
iShares 100 UK Equity Index (UK)	UK All Companies	GB00B7W4GQ69	Medium risk
L&G UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B6HBD759	Medium risk
Lazard Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B24F1G74	Higher risk
M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0031110397	Lower risk
Man Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Higher risk
Man Sterling Corporate Bond Fund	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Premier Miton Cautious Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B0W1V856	Lower risk
Premier Miton Defensive Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B0525B66	Lower risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B78H4K93	Medium risk
Royal London Short Duration Credit	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KW800	Lower risk
Royal London Sterling Credit	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B8GJ8S05	Lower risk
Schroder Global Equity Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B76V7M69	Medium risk
Schroder Global Recovery	Global	GB00BYRJXL91	Medium risk
Schroder MM Diversity	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B60CZD52	Lower risk
Schroder US Mid Cap	North America	GB00B7LDLV43	Higher risk
TwentyFour Monument Bond	Specialist	GB00B3V5V897	Lower risk
UBS UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B4W58959	Medium risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
WS Guinness Global Energy	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B56FW078	Higher risk
WS Lightman European	Europe Excluding UK	GB00BGPFJN79	Medium risk

April's Best of the Best Selection - (grouped by risk)

(funds unchanged from last month are in black while new additions are in green):

Name	Sector	ISIN Code	Risk
BNY Mellon Inflation Linked Corporate Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B8HY5051	Lower risk
BNY Mellon Real Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B8GG4B61	Lower risk
M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0031110397	Lower risk
Man Sterling Corporate Bond Fund	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Premier Miton Cautious Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B0W1V856	Lower risk
Premier Miton Defensive Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B0525B66	Lower risk
Royal London Short Duration Credit	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KW800	Lower risk
Royal London Sterling Credit	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B8GJ8S05	Lower risk
Schroder MM Diversity	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B60CZD52	Lower risk
TwentyFour Monument Bond	Specialist	GB00B3V5V897	Lower risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Income	Infrastructure	GB00BDR8GH68	Medium risk
iShares 100 UK Equity Index (UK)	UK All Companies	GB00B7W4GQ69	Medium risk
L&G UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B6HBD759	Medium risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B78H4K93	Medium risk
Schroder Global Equity Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B76V7M69	Medium risk
Schroder Global Recovery	Global	GB00BYRJXL91	Medium risk
UBS UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B4W58959	Medium risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
WS Lightman European	Europe Excluding UK	GB00BGPFJN79	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	Global	GB00B2PLJP95	Higher risk
AXA Framlington Biotech	Specialist	GB00B784NS11	Higher risk
BlackRock Natural Resources	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Asian Income	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B8KT3V48	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Emerging Income	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B8GGF462	Higher risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher risk
Lazard Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B24F1G74	Higher risk
Man Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Higher risk
Schroder US Mid Cap	North America	GB00B7LDLV43	Higher risk
WS Guinness Global Energy	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B56FW078	Higher 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:

Name	Sector	ISIN Code	Risk
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B2PLJD73	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B2PLJM64	Medium risk
AXA Sterling Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B1Z48Z43	Lower risk
Baillie Gifford Pacific	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB0006063126	Higher risk
Barings Eastern Trust	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B2PSLG53	Higher risk
BNY Mellon UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B6X4W596	Medium risk
Fidelity Asia	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B6Y7NF43	Higher risk
Fidelity Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B9SMK778	Higher risk
Fidelity Multi Asset Open Defensive	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00BC7GXK56	Lower risk
Invesco European Equity Income (UK)	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B28J0V38	Medium risk
Jupiter Merlin Conservative Select	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B8GDMB34	Lower risk
Jupiter Strategic Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B2RBCS16	Lower risk
M&G Global Strategic Value	Global	GB00B6173L33	Medium risk
Royal London Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B87FJ401	Lower risk
Royal London UK Government Bond	UK Gilts	GB00B881TW52	Lower risk
Schroder Global Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B76V5Q67	Higher risk
T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Discovery Equity	Global Emerging Markets	GB00BJL36Z72	Higher risk
WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	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 20% (17%)
• UK Fixed Interest 0% (3%)
• Alternatives 6% (6%) - includes absolute return strategies
• North American Equities 12% (5%)
• Emerging Market Equities 8% (9%)
• Asian Equities 9% (10%)
• European Equities 9% (10%)
• Japanese Equities 5% (8%)
• UK Equities 15% (13%)
• Cash 2% (2%)
• China Equities 0% (0%)
• Property Equities 0% (0%)
• Other International Equities 4% (7%)
• Gilts 3% (3%)
• Commodities and Energy 7% (7%)

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 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 40-60% 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 BOTB has outperformed the average managed fund and the market and has doubled in value.

 

 

 

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