80-20 Investor Best of the Best Selection – January 2025 Update

Commentary

Of the 30 funds in December's BOTB selection 19 funds have retained their place after another month where the BOTB  outperformed its benchmarks, as shown below.

Digging deeper into the performance of the funds within the BOTB during December, the table below highlights the top performers. These were mostly made up of funds with US large cap exposure but also those funds with a defensive bias (such as Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select and M&G Global Dividend). Jupiter China is an interesting star performer, given the fears over a Trump-induced trade war between the US and China. It is good to see that 3 of the funds listed are in my own £50k portfolio.

Fund	December 2024 % return
Jupiter China	5.51
L&G Global Technology Index Trust	4.55
Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity	2.27
Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select	1.17
M&G Global Dividend	1.08
T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity	1.05

At the other end of the scale we saw a slight unwinding of the euphoria surrounding US financial stocks which surged in the aftermath of Trump's election win. Also concerns over stubborn inflation alongside stronger than expected US economic data saw bets on aggressive US interest rate cuts tempered. This hurt rate sensitive sectors such as property and infrastructure.

Fund	December 2024 % return
Fidelity Global Dividend	-2.21
Invesco Japanese Equity Advantage (UK)	-2.34
AXA Framlington Fintech	-2.74
Fidelity Index Pacific ex Japan	-4.08
First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure	-5.46
Schroder Global Cities Real Estate	-6.51

In terms of January's asset mix, the most noticeable change is a lack of any exposure to Indian equities, something we haven't seen since 2023. Other changes include an increase in Chinese equities (6%) and the removal of exposure to property shares. Overall there has been a slight increase in the total equity exposure of the BOTB to 67%. The BOTB's full asset mix is shown in the table at the foot of 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	GB0000938844	Lower risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B2PLJM64	Medium risk
AXA Framlington American Growth	North America	GB00B5LXGG05	Higher risk
AXA Framlington Fintech	Financials and Financial Innovation	GB00B5BHKC62	Higher risk
Baillie Gifford China	China/Greater China	GB00B39RML74	Higher risk
Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond	Sterling High Yield	GB0030816606	Lower risk
Barclays Global Markets Balanced	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B4Z0MR31	Lower risk
CT High Yield Bond	Sterling High Yield	GB0008371014	Lower risk
Fidelity American	North America	GB00B8GPC429	Higher risk
Fidelity Global Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B7778087	Medium risk
Fidelity Index World	Global	GB00BJS8SJ34	Medium risk
FSSA Asia Focus	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00BWNGXJ86	Higher risk
Invesco Global Ex UK Enhanced Index (UK)	Global	GB00BZ8GWQ44	Medium risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
Jupiter China	China/Greater China	GB00B1DTDX49	Higher risk
Jupiter Merian Global Equity	Global	GB00B1XG8F22	Medium risk
L&G Global Technology Index Trust	Technology & Technology Innovation	GB00B0CNH163	Higher risk
L&G Strategic Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B1TWMW95	Lower risk
M&G Global Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B46J9127	Medium risk
Man Group Man Absolute Value	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BF1X8084	Lower risk
Man Group Man High Yield Opportunities	Sterling High Yield	GB00BJK3W057	Lower risk
Man Group Man Japan CoreAlpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Higher risk
Man Group Man Sterling Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Ninety One UK Equity Income	UK All Companies	GB00BV9G3J51	Medium risk
Schroder Asian Discovery	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B5ZS9V71	Medium 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
Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00BD82KP33	Medium risk
UBS US Growth	North America	GB00B7VHZX64	Higher 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	GB0000938844	Lower risk
Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond	Sterling High Yield	GB0030816606	Lower risk
Barclays Global Markets Balanced	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B4Z0MR31	Lower risk
CT High Yield Bond	Sterling High Yield	GB0008371014	Lower risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
L&G Strategic Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B1TWMW95	Lower risk
Man Group Man Absolute Value	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BF1X8084	Lower risk
Man Group Man High Yield Opportunities	Sterling High Yield	GB00BJK3W057	Lower risk
Man Group Man Sterling Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00BNY7YM73	Lower risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity	UK All Companies	GB00B2PLJM64	Medium risk
Fidelity Global Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B7778087	Medium risk
Fidelity Index World	Global	GB00BJS8SJ34	Medium risk
Invesco Global Ex UK Enhanced Index (UK)	Global	GB00BZ8GWQ44	Medium risk
Jupiter Merian Global Equity	Global	GB00B1XG8F22	Medium risk
M&G Global Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B46J9127	Medium risk
Ninety One UK Equity Income	UK All Companies	GB00BV9G3J51	Medium risk
Schroder Asian Discovery	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B5ZS9V71	Medium risk
Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00BD82KP33	Medium risk
AXA Framlington American Growth	North America	GB00B5LXGG05	Higher risk
AXA Framlington Fintech	Financials and Financial Innovation	GB00B5BHKC62	Higher risk
Baillie Gifford China	China/Greater China	GB00B39RML74	Higher risk
Fidelity American	North America	GB00B8GPC429	Higher risk
FSSA Asia Focus	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00BWNGXJ86	Higher risk
Jupiter China	China/Greater China	GB00B1DTDX49	Higher risk
L&G Global Technology Index Trust	Technology & Technology Innovation	GB00B0CNH163	Higher risk
Man Group Man Japan CoreAlpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Higher risk
T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity	North America	GB00BD5FHW12	Higher risk
UBS US Growth	North America	GB00B7VHZX64	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 High Income	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B2PLJN71	Lower risk
AXA Global High Yield	Sterling High Yield	GB00B29NGF01	Lower risk
Close Diversified Income Portfolio	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B708TJ43	Lower risk
Fidelity Index Pacific ex Japan	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00BHZK8G51	Higher risk
First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure	Infrastructure	GB00B24HJL45	Medium risk
FSSA Indian Subcontinent All-Cap	India/Indian Subcontinent	GB00BDG1BM66	Higher risk
Invesco Japanese Equity Advantage (UK)	Japan	GB00B3RS8478	Higher risk
Schroder Global Cities Real Estate	Property Other	GB00B1VPTY75	Higher risk
Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-UK Equity Index	Global	GB00B59G4Q73	Medium risk
Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B4PQW151	Medium risk
Vanguard US Equity Index	North America	GB00B5B71Q71	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 20% (22%)
• UK Fixed Interest 3% (4%)
• Alternatives 10% (8%) - includes absolute return strategies
• North American Equities 27% (26%)
• Emerging Market Equities 0% (3%)
• Asian Equities 6% (3%)
• European Equities 5% (5%)
• Japanese Equities 5% (4%)
• UK Equities 12% (13%)
• Cash % (0%)
• China Equities 6% (3%)
• Property Equities 0% (3%)
• Other International Equities 6% (6%)
• Commodities and Energy % (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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