80-20 Investor Best of the Best Selection – March 2022 Update

Commentary

Of the 30 funds in February's BOTB, 16 funds have retained their place in March's selection. The chart below shows the average performance of the BOTB during February against a benchmark that is calculated using the respective sector averages for each fund in the BOTB and assuming the same asset mix.

 

The outperformance is a reflection of the selection's exposure to funds containing energy and financial stocks as well as commodities. In fact, there was quite a divergence in performance between the top and bottom funds during February. The chart below shows the top five performers from February's BOTB. It is pleasing to see that four of the funds are within my own £50k portfolio.

Fund	% return in February
BlackRock Natural Resources Growth & Income	4.84
Fidelity American Special Situation	2.86
Invesco UK Opportunities (UK)	1.58
Man GLG Japan Core Alpha	0.79
Premier Miton Defensive Growth	0.64

 

At the other end of the scale, those funds that experienced the worst of the market slump had exposure to European stocks, and in particular the German DAX. During February the German DAX was the hardest hit of the major western stock markets falling 6.53% during the month. The German economy has a significant reliance on Russian gas supplies, while its stock market index has a lack of energy companies within it, which have been among the main beneficiaries of rising energy prices. I hold the Schroder European Recovery fund within my own £50k portfolio.

Fund	% return in February
GAM UK Equity Income	-3.55
Schroder European Recovery	-4.85
MI Thornbridge Global Opportunities	-6.11
Stewart Investors Indian Subcontinent Sustainability	-6.95
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	-8.09

 

This month's selection saw a slight decrease in equity exposure, falling from 63% to 60%. The biggest change was a reduced exposure to European equities, a result of the impact of the war in Ukraine, as well as an increase in the exposure to commodities, including gold miners (something that has not been in the BOTB for a long time but is now benefiting from the rise in the price of gold). There is still a small exposure to Japanese equities. The low-risk end of the selection still has a focus on targeted absolute return funds and mixed asset funds, but bond funds have crept back into the mix.

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 16 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.

March'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 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
Fidelity American Special Situations	North America	GB00B89ST706	Medium risk
FP Foresight Sustainable Real Estate Securities	Property Other	GB00BMFYBB80	High risk
FP Russell Investments Real Assets	Flexible Investment	GB00B4KQS127	Medium risk
Invesco Latin American (UK)	Latin America	GB00B3RW8X82	High risk
Invesco UK Opportunities (UK)	UK All Companies	GB00B1W7HM62	Medium risk
JPM US Equity Income	North America	GB00B3FJQ151	Medium risk
M&G Global Dividend	Global	GB00B46J9127	Medium risk
M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0031110397	Low risk
Man GLG Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B3F46Y30	High risk
Ninety One Global Gold	Specialist	GB00B1XFGM25	High risk
Premier Miton Defensive Growth	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B832BD89	Low risk
Royal London Diversified Asset-Backed Securities	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B4K6P774	Low risk
Royal London GMAP Balanced	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00BD8RSQ51	Low risk
Royal London Short Duration Global Index Linked	Global Bonds	GB00BD050F05	Low risk
Royal London UK Income With Growth Trust	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB0001598050	Medium risk
Sarasin Global Higher Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B84ZSV39	High risk
Schroder European Recovery	Europe Excluding UK	GB0007221889	High 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
TwentyFour Monument Bond	Specialist	GB00B3V5V897	Low risk
UBS UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B4W58959	Medium risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
VT De Lisle America	North America	GB00B3QF3G69	High risk

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

Here is March'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
M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0031110397	Low risk
Premier Miton Defensive Growth	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B832BD89	Low risk
Royal London Diversified Asset-Backed Securities	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B4K6P774	Low risk
Royal London GMAP Balanced	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00BD8RSQ51	Low risk
Royal London Short Duration Global Index Linked	Global Bonds	GB00BD050F05	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
TwentyFour Monument Bond	Specialist	GB00B3V5V897	Low risk
ASI World Income Equity	Global Equity Income	GB00B3N9CY25	Medium risk
Fidelity American Special Situations	North America	GB00B89ST706	Medium risk
FP Russell Investments Real Assets	Flexible Investment	GB00B4KQS127	Medium risk
Invesco UK Opportunities (UK)	UK All Companies	GB00B1W7HM62	Medium risk
JPM US Equity Income	North America	GB00B3FJQ151	Medium risk
M&G Global Dividend	Global	GB00B46J9127	Medium risk
Royal London UK Income With Growth Trust	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB0001598050	Medium risk
Schroder Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B3PM1190	Medium risk
UBS UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B4W58959	Medium risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
Barings Global Agriculture	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B3B9V927	High risk
BlackRock Natural Resources Growth & Income	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	High risk
FP Foresight Sustainable Real Estate Securities	Property Other	GB00BMFYBB80	High risk
Invesco Latin American (UK)	Latin America	GB00B3RW8X82	High risk
Man GLG Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B3F46Y30	High risk
Ninety One Global Gold	Specialist	GB00B1XFGM25	High risk
Sarasin Global Higher Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B84ZSV39	High risk
Schroder European Recovery	Europe Excluding UK	GB0007221889	High risk
TB Guinness Global Energy	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B56FW078	High risk
VT De Lisle America	North America	GB00B3QF3G69	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
Artemis Monthly Distribution	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B6TK3R06	Low risk
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B2PLJD73	High risk
CFP Castlefield Real Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B12V1482	Low risk
Close Diversified Income Portfolio	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B708TJ43	Low risk
EdenTree Responsible & Sustainable Managed Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB0009449710	Medium risk
Fidelity Index US	North America	GB00BJS8SH10	High risk
GAM UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00BF7M7V38	High risk
Margetts Providence Strategy	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B4VR6328	Low risk
MI Thornbridge Global Opportunities	Global	GB00B5TP8W88	Medium risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Monthly Income	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B7GGPC79	Low risk
Schroder Global Equity Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B76V7M69	High risk
Schroder Recovery	UK All Companies	GB00B3VVG600	Medium risk
Stewart Investors Indian Subcontinent Sustainability	India/Indian Subcontinent	GB00B1FXTG93	High risk
Wise Funds Limited TB Wise Multi-Asset Income	Flexible Investment	GB00B0LJ0160	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 11% (11%)
• Alternatives 25% (25%) - includes absolute return strategies & some bond exposure
• UK Corporate Fixed Interest (i.e UK bonds) 3% (0%)
• Emerging Market Fixed Income 0% (0%)
• North American Equities 10% (12%)
• European Equities 4% (11%)
• Chinese Equities 0% (0%)
• Japanese Equities 3% (4%)
• Property 4% (0%)
• UK Equities 19% (19%)
• Gilts 0% (0%)
• Cash 0% (0%)
• Asian / Emerging market equities 3% (0%)
• Other international equities 4% (10%)
• Commodities and Energy 14% (8%)

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.

 

 

 

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.