Commentary
Of the 30 funds in November’s BOTB, 18 funds have retained their place in December’s selection which is not surprising given that the BOTB as a whole was up almost 4% during the month. The chart below illustrates that the BOTB (the blue line) performed broadly in line with the average professionally managed fund from the Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector (grey line). The green line represents the BOTB's benchmark that uses the respective sector averages for each fund in the BOTB, assuming the same asset mix. It is interesting to note that the BOTB underperformed its benchmark which was, unusually, down to the performance of the low risk funds within the collection. The BOTB’s low risk funds have had a focus on short duration bonds, which in recent months has boosted the BOTB's performance when bond markets were in freefall. In fact, the top-performing funds in October's BOTB were short-dated bond funds.
However, November saw bond markets rebound as explained in November’s monthly newsletter. As such, long-dated bonds rallied much more strongly than their shorter-dated counterparts, hence the underperformance you see above.
The top-performing funds in November’s BOTB are highlighted below. There were some incredible performances from funds with exposure to US equities and tech stocks in particular, as falling bond yields and a weaker US dollar sparked a powerful rally.
| Fund | November 2023 % return |
| Liontrust Global Technology | 15.57 |
| FTF Franklin US Opportunities | 9.36 |
| AXA Framlington Global Technology | 8.83 |
| CT Latin America | 7.8 |
| Artemis US Select | 6.4 |
| T. Rowe Price Global Focused Growth Equity | 6.39 |
| T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity | 6.32 |
At the other end of the scale were short-dated bond funds (as you'd expect), as well as a Japanese equity fund and an energy fund. The latter is likely a reflection of falling inflation expectations as well as a weaker economic outlook globally. Ironically, Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select (which is in my portfolio) achieved the same return in November as it did in October when it actually topped the BOTB's performance chart. So as you can see, November was a great month for investors regardless.
| Fund | November 2023 % return |
| Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select | 1.37 |
| M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond | 1.21 |
| Premier Miton Strategic Monthly Income Bond | 1.07 |
| WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield | -0.05 |
| WS Guinness Global Energy | -3.91 |
In terms of asset mix, not much has changed this month. UK equities exposure is marginally higher and US equities remain the biggest constituent of the BOTB asset mix. Apart from that the only real difference is the removal of the commodity exposure which appeared last month. Overall the total equity exposure has decreased marginally and returned to 60%, down from to 62%. You can see the full asset mix breakdown later in this article.
Below I list this month's selection in full with the 18 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.
December'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 |
| abrdn High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB00B79RR984 | Lower risk |
| Artemis Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B5N99561 | Medium risk |
| Artemis SmartGARP European Equity | Europe Excluding UK | GB00B2PLJD73 | Higher risk |
| Artemis US Select | North America | GB00BMMV5105 | Medium risk |
| AXA Framlington Global Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00B4W52V57 | Higher risk |
| Barclays Wealth Wealth Global Markets 4 | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | GB00B4ZFH287 | Medium risk |
| CT High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB0008371014 | Lower risk |
| CT Latin America | Latin America | GB0001531754 | Higher risk |
| EdenTree Responsible and Sustainable European Equity | Europe Excluding UK | GB0008448333 | Higher risk |
| Fidelity American Special Situations | North America | GB00B89ST706 | Medium risk |
| FTF Franklin US Opportunities | North America | GB00B7KCG406 | Higher risk |
| FTF Templeton Global Leaders | Global | GB00B7K6LK38 | Medium risk |
| IFSL Marlborough High Yield Fixed Interest | Sterling High Yield | GB00B03TN153 | Lower risk |
| Invesco Emerging Markets ex China (UK) | Global Emerging Markets | GB00B3RW8X82 | Higher risk |
| Invesco Global Equity (UK) | Global | GB00B3RS9Q62 | Medium risk |
| Invesco High Yield (UK) | Sterling High Yield | GB00B3RW7649 | Lower risk |
| Jupiter India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B2NHJ040 | Higher risk |
| Jupiter Monthly Income Bond | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00B1XG8187 | Lower risk |
| L&G US Index Trust | North America | GB00B0CNGT73 | Medium risk |
| Liontrust Global Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00BYXZ5N79 | Higher risk |
| Liontrust India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B1L6DV51 | Higher risk |
| M&G Strategic Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00B4MQK815 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG Japan Core Alpha | Japan | GB00B0119B50 | Medium risk |
| Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00BNLYQX62 | Lower risk |
| Schroder High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00B83RDY83 | Lower risk |
| Schroder Income Maximiser | UK Equity Income | GB00B5B0KM51 | Medium risk |
| Schroder Strategic Credit | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00BJZ2ZC09 | Lower risk |
| T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity | North America | GB00BD5FHW12 | Higher risk |
| Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BNY7YM73 | Lower risk |
| WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield | Japan | GB00B42MKS95 | Medium risk |
December's Best of the Best Selection - (grouped by risk)
Here is December'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 |
| abrdn High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB00B79RR984 | Lower risk |
| CT High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB0008371014 | Lower risk |
| IFSL Marlborough High Yield Fixed Interest | Sterling High Yield | GB00B03TN153 | Lower risk |
| Invesco High Yield (UK) | Sterling High Yield | GB00B3RW7649 | Lower risk |
| Jupiter Monthly Income Bond | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00B1XG8187 | Lower risk |
| M&G Strategic Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00B4MQK815 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00BNLYQX62 | Lower risk |
| Schroder High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00B83RDY83 | Lower risk |
| Schroder Strategic Credit | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00BJZ2ZC09 | Lower risk |
| Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BNY7YM73 | Lower risk |
| Artemis Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B5N99561 | Medium risk |
| Artemis US Select | North America | GB00BMMV5105 | Medium risk |
| Barclays Wealth Wealth Global Markets 4 | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | GB00B4ZFH287 | Medium risk |
| Fidelity American Special Situations | North America | GB00B89ST706 | Medium risk |
| FTF Templeton Global Leaders | Global | GB00B7K6LK38 | Medium risk |
| Invesco Global Equity (UK) | Global | GB00B3RS9Q62 | Medium risk |
| L&G US Index Trust | North America | GB00B0CNGT73 | Medium risk |
| Man GLG Japan Core Alpha | Japan | GB00B0119B50 | Medium risk |
| Schroder Income Maximiser | UK Equity Income | GB00B5B0KM51 | Medium risk |
| WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield | Japan | GB00B42MKS95 | Medium risk |
| Artemis SmartGARP European Equity | Europe Excluding UK | GB00B2PLJD73 | Higher risk |
| AXA Framlington Global Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00B4W52V57 | Higher risk |
| CT Latin America | Latin America | GB0001531754 | Higher risk |
| EdenTree Responsible and Sustainable European Equity | Europe Excluding UK | GB0008448333 | Higher risk |
| FTF Franklin US Opportunities | North America | GB00B7KCG406 | Higher risk |
| Invesco Emerging Markets ex China (UK) | Global Emerging Markets | GB00B3RW8X82 | Higher risk |
| Jupiter India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B2NHJ040 | Higher risk |
| Liontrust Global Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00BYXZ5N79 | Higher risk |
| Liontrust India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B1L6DV51 | Higher risk |
| T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity | North America | GB00BD5FHW12 | 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 |
| AXA Global Short Duration Bonds | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00BDFZQV30 | Lower risk |
| Fidelity American | North America | GB00B8GPC429 | Medium risk |
| Fidelity Japan | Japan | GB00B882N041 | Medium risk |
| L&G Global 100 Index Trust | Global | GB00B0CNH056 | Medium risk |
| Lazard Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | GB00B24F1G74 | Higher risk |
| M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB0031110397 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG Absolute Value | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BF1X8084 | Lower risk |
| Premier Miton Strategic Monthly Income Bond | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00BMWVS110 | Lower risk |
| T. Rowe Price Global Focused Growth Equity | Global | GB00BD446774 | Medium risk |
| UBS US Equity | North America | GB00B7V68L26 | Medium risk |
| WS Canlife Short Duration Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00BD0CNM97 | Lower risk |
| WS Guinness Global Energy | Commodity/Natural Resource | GB00B56FW078 | Higher 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 24% (23%)
- UK Fixed Interest 0% (3%)
- Alternatives 14% (10%) - includes absolute return strategies
- North American Equities 27% (29%)
- American Emerging Market Equities 3% (4%)
- Asian Emerging Market Equities 8% (8%)
- European Equities 6% (6%)
- Japanese Equities 7% (7%)
- UK Equities 4% (2%)
- Cash 2% (2%)
- China Equities 0% (0%)
- Other international equities 5% (3%)
- Commodities and Energy 0% (3%)
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.
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