Commentary
Of the 30 funds in May's BOTB, 21 funds have retained their place in June's selection. This follows on from the previous month when 24 funds retained their place. This is a high level of consistency which is perhaps unsurprising given the selection's recent performance. The chart below shows the average performance of the BOTB during May (the green line) against a benchmark that is calculated using the respective sector averages for each fund in the BOTB and assuming the same asset mix (the blue line). You can see that the BOTB outperformed its benchmark once again.
The chart also shows how the selection outperformed the average professionally managed fund from the Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector and the Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector. The former is typically more cautious than the BOTB given its lower equity exposure while the latter tends to be more adventurous.
The table below shows the top five performers from May's BOTB and it's good to see that Invesco UK Opportunities (UK) and Blackrock Natural Resources Growth & Income, which feature in my own £50k portfolio, make an appearance. You can see how commodity exposure (and in particular energy stocks) powered the performance of the BOTB selection during the month.
| Fund | May % return |
| TB Guinness Global Energy | 13.49 |
| JPM Natural Resources | 7.53 |
| BlackRock Natural Resources Growth & Income | 6 |
| Schroder Income in GB | 3.76 |
| Invesco UK Opportunities (UK) | 2.91 |
At the other end of the scale, the worst-performing funds are shown in the table below, and it's worth noting that Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Ethical and Fidelity Global Property, which feature in my £50k portfolio, are both in the list. May was a month where property stocks and gold struggled.
| Fund | May % return |
| Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Ethical | -2.37 |
| VT Price Value Portfolio | -2.81 |
| Fidelity Global Property | -6.5 |
| First Sentier Global Property Securities | -7.34 |
| Ninety One Global Gold | -7.98 |
This month's selection sees the equity exposure remain around 61% but with some marked changes in the asset mix. The exposure to European equities has increased, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, which is still reflective of the more accommodative stance of the European Central Bank versus other major central banks at the moment. Property exposure has completely been removed as has exposure to emerging market equities. Interestingly, Japanese equities make it into the BOTB for the first time in a long while.
At the foot of this article, you can see how the 80-20 Investor selection continues to outperform the professional fund managers as well as the market since its launch seven years ago.
Below I list this month's selection in full with the 21 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.
June'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 |
| ASI Latin American Equity | Latin America | GB00B41QSW23 | High risk |
| ASI UK High Income Equity | UK Equity Income | GB00B7FTRJ84 | Medium risk |
| ASI World Income Equity | Global Equity Income | GB00B3N9CY25 | Medium risk |
| Barings Global Agriculture | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB00B3B9V927 | High risk |
| BlackRock Natural Resources Growth & Income | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB00B6865B79 | High risk |
| BM SVS Brooks Macdonald Defensive Capital | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B61MR835 | Low risk |
| Close Diversified Income Portfolio | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00B708TJ43 | Low risk |
| Courtiers Total Return Cautious Risk | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00B1P2K418 | Low risk |
| Fidelity American Special Situations | North America | GB00B89ST706 | Medium risk |
| Fidelity Moneybuilder Balanced | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | GB00B7XJFX07 | Low risk |
| First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure | Infrastructure | GB00B24HJL45 | High risk |
| Invesco UK Opportunities (UK) | UK All Companies | GB00B1W7HM62 | Medium risk |
| JOHCM Global Opportunities | Global | GB00BJ5JMC04 | Medium risk |
| JPM Natural Resources | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB0031835118 | High risk |
| LF Lightman European | Europe Excluding UK | GB00BGPFJN79 | High risk |
| LF Macquarie Global Infrastructure Securities | Infrastructure | GB00B1W24C09 | Medium risk |
| M&G Global Listed Infrastructure | Infrastructure | GB00BF00R928 | Medium risk |
| Man GLG Japan Core Alpha | Japan | GB00B3F46Y30 | High risk |
| MI Thornbridge Global Opportunities | Global | GB00B5TP8W88 | High risk |
| Premier Miton Defensive Growth | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B832BD89 | Low risk |
| Royal London GMAP Balanced | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00BD8RSQ51 | Low risk |
| Royal London UK Income With Growth Trust | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | GB0001598050 | Low risk |
| Schroder European Recovery | Europe Excluding UK | GB0007221889 | High risk |
| Schroder Global Equity Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B76V7M69 | Medium risk |
| Schroder Income | UK Equity Income | GB00B3PM1190 | Medium risk |
| Schroder MM Diversity | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00B60CZD52 | Low risk |
| T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BD0NLR34 | Low risk |
| TB Guinness Global Energy | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB00B56FW078 | High risk |
| Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BNY7YM73 | Low risk |
| Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index | UK Equity Income | GB00B59G4H82 | Medium risk |
June's Best of the Best Selection - (grouped by risk)
Here is June'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 |
| BM SVS Brooks Macdonald Defensive Capital | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B61MR835 | Low risk |
| Close Diversified Income Portfolio | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00B708TJ43 | Low risk |
| Courtiers Total Return Cautious Risk | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00B1P2K418 | Low risk |
| Fidelity Moneybuilder Balanced | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | GB00B7XJFX07 | Low risk |
| Premier Miton Defensive Growth | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00B832BD89 | Low risk |
| Royal London GMAP Balanced | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00BD8RSQ51 | Low risk |
| Royal London UK Income With Growth Trust | Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares | GB0001598050 | Low risk |
| Schroder MM Diversity | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | GB00B60CZD52 | Low risk |
| T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BD0NLR34 | Low risk |
| Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BNY7YM73 | Low risk |
| ASI UK High Income Equity | UK Equity Income | GB00B7FTRJ84 | Medium risk |
| ASI World Income Equity | Global Equity Income | GB00B3N9CY25 | Medium risk |
| Fidelity American Special Situations | North America | GB00B89ST706 | Medium risk |
| Invesco UK Opportunities (UK) | UK All Companies | GB00B1W7HM62 | Medium risk |
| JOHCM Global Opportunities | Global | GB00BJ5JMC04 | Medium risk |
| LF Macquarie Global Infrastructure Securities | Infrastructure | GB00B1W24C09 | Medium risk |
| M&G Global Listed Infrastructure | Infrastructure | GB00BF00R928 | Medium risk |
| Schroder Global Equity Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B76V7M69 | Medium risk |
| Schroder Income | UK Equity Income | GB00B3PM1190 | Medium risk |
| Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index | UK Equity Income | GB00B59G4H82 | Medium risk |
| ASI Latin American Equity | Latin America | GB00B41QSW23 | High risk |
| Barings Global Agriculture | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB00B3B9V927 | High risk |
| BlackRock Natural Resources Growth & Income | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB00B6865B79 | High risk |
| First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure | Infrastructure | GB00B24HJL45 | High risk |
| JPM Natural Resources | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB0031835118 | High risk |
| LF Lightman European | Europe Excluding UK | GB00BGPFJN79 | High risk |
| Man GLG Japan Core Alpha | Japan | GB00B3F46Y30 | High risk |
| MI Thornbridge Global Opportunities | Global | GB00B5TP8W88 | High risk |
| Schroder European Recovery | Europe Excluding UK | GB0007221889 | High risk |
| TB Guinness Global Energy | Commodity/Natural Resources | GB00B56FW078 | High 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 Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B7XK5M25 | Medium risk |
| Fidelity Global Property | Property Other | GB00B7K2NZ09 | High risk |
| First Sentier Global Property Securities | Property Other | GB00B1F76N79 | High risk |
| FP Russell Investments Real Assets | Flexible Investment | GB00B4KQS127 | Medium risk |
| JPM US Equity Income | North America | GB00B3FJQ151 | Medium risk |
| Ninety One Global Gold | Specialist | GB00B1XFGM25 | High risk |
| Royal London Short Duration Global Index Linked | Global Bonds | GB00BD050F05 | Low risk |
| Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Ethical | Flexible Investment | GB00BJP0XX17 | Low risk |
| VT Price Value Portfolio | Global | GB00BWZMTX09 | High 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 8% (11%)
- Alternatives 20% (18%) - includes absolute return strategies & some bond exposure
- UK Corporate Fixed Interest (i.e UK bonds) 0% (0%)
- Emerging Market Fixed Income 0% (4%)
- North American Equities 13% (17%)
- European Equities 11% (5%)
- Chinese Equities 0% (0%)
- Japanese Equities 4% (0%)
- Property 0% (8%)
- UK Equities 20% (16%)
- Gilts 0% (0%)
- Cash 5% (5%)
- Asian / Emerging market equities 0% (0%)
- Other international equities 5% (0%)
- Commodities and Energy 14% (16%)
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 a FTSE 100 tracker fund (the black line) and 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 portfolio has outperformed the average managed fund and the market.
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