80-20 Investor Best of the Best Selection – January 2024 Update

Commentary

Of the 30 funds in December's BOTB, 19 funds have retained their place in January's selection which is not surprising given that the BOTB as a whole was up over 4% during the month. It means that the BOTB has risen by almost 8% in the last two months. 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.

Obviously, the chart above only looks at the average across all of the funds within the BOTB but there is a wide range of performances among the funds that make up the selection. The top-performing funds in December's BOTB are highlighted in the table below. Once again, there were some incredible performances from funds with exposure to US equities and tech stocks in particular. Liontrust Global Technology followed its 15.57% return in November with a return of 8.1% in December. It is also good to see Liontrust India, which is in my own £50k portfolio, performing well.

Fund	December 2023 % return
Liontrust Global Technology	8.1
CT Latin America	7.97
AXA Framlington Global Technology	6.14
Liontrust India	5.96
Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond	5.72

At the other end of the scale are a number of bond funds, as well as a Japanese equity fund, propping up the performance table. Ordinarily a 2-3% return in just one month for a bond fund would be an incredible return. It just goes to show how strong the performance was within the BOTB for bond funds like Schroder Strategic Credit to be at the foot of the BOTB performance table despite making 2.37% during the month of December. Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select (which is in my portfolio) props up the BOTB's performance chart and was the only fund to not make money in December. But as you can see, December was a great month for investors regardless.

Fund	December 2023 % return
Jupiter Monthly Income Bond	2.76
Schroder Strategic Credit	2.37
Man GLG Japan Core Alpha	1.8
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	1.66
Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select	-0.6

In terms of asset mix, not much has changed this month given that almost two thirds of the funds remain the same. As can be seen from the asset mix comparison (see later in this article) that the main difference is an increase in UK equity exposure, which is largely a result of the stronger pound. Apart from that the only real difference is the introduction of property equity exposure, which has benefited from the fall in interest rate expectations in recent months.  Overall the total equity exposure has increased marginally from 60% 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 19 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.

January'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
abrdn UK Real Estate Share	Property Other	GB00B0XWNM59	Higher risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis US Select	North America	GB00BMMV5105	Medium risk
Aviva Inv Multi Strategy Target Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BMTRW090	Lower risk
AXA Framlington Global Technology	Technology & Technology Innovation	GB00B4W52V57	Higher risk
CT Emerging Market Bond	Global EM Bonds - Hard Currency	GB0002365608	Lower risk
CT High Yield Bond	Sterling High Yield	GB0008371014	Lower risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher risk
Fidelity American Special Situations	North America	GB00B89ST706	Medium risk
Fidelity UK Smaller Companies	UK Smaller Companies	GB00B7VNMB18	Higher risk
FTF Franklin US Opportunities	North America	GB00B7KCG406	Higher risk
FTF Templeton Global Leaders	Global	GB00B7K6LK38	Medium risk
Invesco Emerging Markets ex China (UK)	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B3RW8X82	Higher risk
Invesco Global Equity Income (UK)	Global Equity Income	GB00B3FD1Z66	Medium risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
Jupiter Merian Global Equity	Global	GB00B1XG8F22	Medium risk
L&G Multi-Asset Target Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BD97XY71	Lower 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 Sterling Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Man GLG Undervalued Assets	UK All Companies	GB00BFH3NC99	Higher risk
Schroder Income Maximiser	UK Equity Income	GB00B5B0KM51	Medium risk
Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0009379370	Lower risk
T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity	North America	GB00BD5FHW12	Medium risk
Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BNY7YM73	Lower risk
UBS US Growth	North America	GB00B7VHZX64	Medium risk
WS Ardtur Continental European	Europe Excluding UK	GB0031831570	Higher risk
WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	Medium risk

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

Here is January'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
Aviva Inv Multi Strategy Target Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BMTRW090	Lower risk
CT Emerging Market Bond	Global EM Bonds - Hard Currency	GB0002365608	Lower risk
CT High Yield Bond	Sterling High Yield	GB0008371014	Lower risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
L&G Multi-Asset Target Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BD97XY71	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 Sterling Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0009379370	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
Fidelity American Special Situations	North America	GB00B89ST706	Medium risk
FTF Templeton Global Leaders	Global	GB00B7K6LK38	Medium risk
Invesco Global Equity Income (UK)	Global Equity Income	GB00B3FD1Z66	Medium risk
Jupiter Merian Global Equity	Global	GB00B1XG8F22	Medium risk
Schroder Income Maximiser	UK Equity Income	GB00B5B0KM51	Medium risk
T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity	North America	GB00BD5FHW12	Medium risk
UBS US Growth	North America	GB00B7VHZX64	Medium risk
WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	Medium risk
abrdn UK Real Estate Share	Property Other	GB00B0XWNM59	Higher risk
AXA Framlington Global Technology	Technology & Technology Innovation	GB00B4W52V57	Higher risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher risk
Fidelity UK Smaller Companies	UK Smaller Companies	GB00B7VNMB18	Higher risk
FTF Franklin US Opportunities	North America	GB00B7KCG406	Higher risk
Invesco Emerging Markets ex China (UK)	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B3RW8X82	Higher risk
Liontrust Global Technology	Technology & Technology Innovation	GB00BYXZ5N79	Higher risk
Liontrust India	India/Indian Subcontinent	GB00B1L6DV51	Higher risk
Man GLG Undervalued Assets	UK All Companies	GB00BFH3NC99	Higher risk
WS Ardtur Continental European	Europe Excluding UK	GB0031831570	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	Higher risk
Barclays Wealth Wealth Global Markets 4	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B4ZFH287	Medium risk
EdenTree Responsible and Sustainable European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB0008448333	Higher risk
IFSL Marlborough High Yield Fixed Interest	Sterling High Yield	GB00B03TN153	Lower risk
Invesco Global Equity (UK)	Global	GB00B3RS9Q62	Medium 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
Man GLG Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Medium risk
Schroder High Yield Opportunities	Sterling High Yield	GB00B83RDY83	Lower risk
Schroder Strategic Credit	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJZ2ZC09	Lower 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 18% (24%)
• UK Fixed Interest 0% (0%)
• Alternatives 16% (14%) - includes absolute return strategies
• North American Equities 27% (27%)
• American Emerging Market Equities 6% (3%)
• Asian Emerging Market Equities 4% (8%)
• European Equities 5% (6%)
• Japanese Equities 4% (7%)
• UK Equities 10% (4%)
• Cash 4% (2%)
• China Equities 0% (0%)
• Property Equities 3% (0%)
• Other international equities 3% (5%)
• Commodities and Energy 0% (0%)

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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