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

Commentary

The BOTB selection has started 2026 in an incredibly strong way. Not only did the BOTB outperform its benchmark and the average professionally managed fund from the Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector, but it also chalked up its best monthly performance since November 2020. The fact that both the BOTB (the blue line) and its benchmark (the red line), which has the same asset mix as the BOTB but assumes the sector average performance for each asset class, outperformed the average professionally managed fund by such a margin demonstrates that the biggest driver of performance was the underlying asset mix. If you look at the latest 80-20 Investor heatmap, the biggest winners were commodities and emerging market equities. These are areas where professionally managed multi-asset funds lack exposure, in contrast to the BOTB at the moment. With such a strong monthly performance, the long-term outperformance of the BOTB sits at an all-time high, as shown in the chart at the foot of this article.

As such, it should come as no surprise that 21 funds have retained their position in this month's BOTB. Digging deeper into the performance of individual funds, the table below shows how those with exposure to commodities (in large part thanks to gold and silver) and emerging market equities were the biggest winners. It is quite incredible to see the top 5 funds all produced a return of over 7% in January. Artemis Global Income was the standout performer once again, a fund which I hold in my own portfolio.

Fund	January 2026 % return
BlackRock Natural Resources	11.99
Artemis Global Income	9.43
T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Discovery Equity	8.86
Fidelity Emerging Markets	8.82
abrdn Emerging Markets Equity	7.77

At the other end of the scale, L&G Global Technology Index Trust was the only fund to lose money during January and has now finally relinquished its place in the BOTB. The other funds propping up the performance table are simply the lower-risk funds within the BOTB. Despite the extreme volatility we saw in January, ultimately risk was rewarded.

Fund	January 2026 % return
Invesco High Yield (UK)	0.76
Royal London Ethical Bond	0.74
Royal London Sterling Credit	0.71
Jupiter Monthly Income Bond	0.64
L&G Global Technology Index Trust	-0.73

In terms of asset mix, February's BOTB has significantly reduced its US equity exposure (from 13% to just 7%), in favour of a small increase in emerging market and Asian equity exposure. An exposure to commodities has remained given the asset classes' continued momentum.

UK Equities remain the largest single component of the equity portion of the BOTB; with geographical allocation still split fairly evenly across UK, US, Asia, Emerging Markets, European and Japanese equities. Although US equities are now the geographical region with the smallest equity allocation. The full asset breakdown can be found at the foot of this article.

Below I list this month's selection in full, with the 21 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.

February'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 Emerging Markets Equity	Global Emerging Markets	GB0033228197	Higher risk
abrdn Strategic Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BWK27X12	Lower risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis High Income	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B2PLJN71	Lower risk
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B2PLJD73	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	Global	GB00B2PLJP95	Higher risk
Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B2PLJM64	Medium risk
Baillie Gifford Pacific	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB0006063126	Higher risk
Barings Eastern Trust	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B2PSLG53	Higher risk
BlackRock Natural Resources	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	Higher risk
BNY Mellon UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B6X4W596	Medium risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher 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 (UK)	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B1W7HP93	Medium risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
Jupiter Merlin Conservative Select	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B8GDMB34	Lower risk
Man Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Medium risk
Man Sterling Corporate Bond Fund	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B78H4K93	Medium risk
Royal London Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B87FJ401	Lower risk
Royal London Ethical Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KSX76	Lower risk
Royal London Sterling Credit	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B8GJ8S05	Lower risk
Schroder MM Diversity	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B60CZD52	Lower risk
T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Discovery Equity	Global Emerging Markets	GB00BJL36Z72	Higher risk
T.Rowe Price Global Value Equity	Global	GB00BLFG9N53	Higher risk
UBS UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B4W58959	Medium risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	Medium risk

February'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
abrdn Strategic Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BWK27X12	Lower risk
Artemis High Income	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B2PLJN71	Lower risk
Fidelity Multi Asset Open Defensive	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00BC7GXK56	Lower risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
Jupiter Merlin Conservative Select	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B8GDMB34	Lower risk
Man Sterling Corporate Bond Fund	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Royal London Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B87FJ401	Lower risk
Royal London Ethical Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KSX76	Lower risk
Royal London Sterling Credit	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B8GJ8S05	Lower risk
Schroder MM Diversity	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B60CZD52	Lower risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B2PLJD73	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B2PLJM64	Medium risk
BNY Mellon UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B6X4W596	Medium risk
Invesco European Equity (UK)	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B1W7HP93	Medium risk
Man Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Medium risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B78H4K93	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 Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	Medium risk
abrdn Emerging Markets Equity	Global Emerging Markets	GB0033228197	Higher risk
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	Global	GB00B2PLJP95	Higher risk
Baillie Gifford Pacific	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB0006063126	Higher risk
Barings Eastern Trust	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B2PSLG53	Higher risk
BlackRock Natural Resources	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	Higher risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher risk
Fidelity Asia	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B6Y7NF43	Higher risk
Fidelity Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B9SMK778	Higher risk
T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Discovery Equity	Global Emerging Markets	GB00BJL36Z72	Higher risk
T.Rowe Price Global Value Equity	Global	GB00BLFG9N53	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
BNY Mellon Real Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B8GG4B61	Lower risk
Fidelity Multi Asset Income	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00BJ4L7S87	Lower risk
Invesco Asian (UK)	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B1W7HW60	Higher risk
Invesco Global Emerging Markets (UK)	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B3RW7S64	Higher risk
Jupiter Monthly Income Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B1XG8187	Lower risk
L&G Global Technology Index Trust	Technology & Technology Innovation	GB00B0CNH163	Higher risk
M&G Recovery	UK All Companies	GB00B7759Y38	Medium risk
Royal London Short Duration Credit	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KW800	Lower risk
Schroder Global Recovery	Global	GB00BYRJXL91	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 21% (19%)
• UK Fixed Interest 3% (4%)
• Alternatives 6% (8%) - includes absolute return strategies
• North American Equities 7% (13%)
• Emerging Market Equities 10% (9%)
• Asian Equities 9% (8%)
• European Equities 9% (9%)
• Japanese Equities 8% (7%)
• UK Equities 14% (14%)
• Cash 2% (0%)
• China Equities 0% (0%)
• Property Equities 0% (0%)
• Other International Equities 8% (6%)
• Commodities and Energy 3% (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 and has doubled in value.

 

 

All performance figures are net of fund charges. The material in any email, the MoneytotheMasses.com website, associated pages / channels / accounts and any other correspondence are for general information only and do not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation. See full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.

Neither MoneytotheMasses.com or 80-20 Investor nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Funds invest in shares, bonds, and other financial instruments and are by their nature speculative and can be volatile. You should never invest more than you can safely afford to lose. The value of your investment can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you originally invested. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on individual circumstances.
Information provided by MoneytotheMasses.com or 80-20 Investor is for general information only and not intended to be relied upon by readers in making (or not making) specific investment decisions.
Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decisions. Leadenhall Learning (owner of MoneytotheMasses.com or 80-20 Investor) and its staff do not accept liability for any loss suffered by readers as a result of any such decisions.
The tables and graphs are derived from data supplied by Trustnet. All Rights Reserved.