Commentary
Of the 30 funds in February's BOTB, selection 20 funds have retained their place in March's selection after yet another strong monthly performance. The BOTB as a group rose 2.91%, significantly outperforming the average professionally managed fund, as shown by the performance of the Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector (green line) in the chart below. In fact, if the BOTB selection was a fund it would have outperformed 263 of the 274 funds from the Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector during February. That would have put it in the top 5% of performers in February, which is even better than the performance in January. Also, don't forget that many funds from the sector take far more investment risk than the BOTB does as a whole.
Obviously, the chart above only looks at the average across all of the funds within the BOTB and there is a wide range of performances among the funds that make up the selection. The top-performing funds in February's BOTB are highlighted in the table below. Once again, there were some strong performances from funds with exposure to US equities and tech stocks in particular.
| Fund | February 2024 % return |
| Artemis US Select | 7.22 |
| FTF Templeton Global Leaders | 6.57 |
| FTF Franklin US Opportunities | 6.5 |
| T. Rowe Price Global Technology Equity | 6.18 |
| Artemis Global Income | 5.6 |
At the other end of the scale bond funds and UK smaller companies funds struggled.
| Fund | February 2024 % return |
| CT High Yield Bond | 0.25 |
| VT Downing Unique Opportunities | -0.18 |
| Invesco Monthly Income Plus (UK) | -0.35 |
| Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond | -0.74 |
| Royal London UK Smaller Companies | -3.38 |
In terms of asset mix, not much has changed this month given that 20 of the funds remain the same. As can be seen from the asset mix comparison (see later in this article) the main difference is a reduction in UK equities in favour of European equity exposure. Overall the total equity exposure has increased marginally again, from 64% to 65%.
Below I list this month's selection in full with the 20 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 |
| abrdn High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB00B79RR984 | Lower risk |
| Artemis European Select | Europe Excluding UK | GB00B6WFCR53 | Medium risk |
| Artemis Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B5N99561 | Medium risk |
| Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets Equity | Global Emerging Markets | GB00BW9HL132 | Higher risk |
| Artemis US Select | North America | GB00BMMV5105 | Medium risk |
| Aviva Inv Global Equity Income | Global Equity Income | GB0030441918 | Medium risk |
| AXA Framlington Global Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00B4W52V57 | Higher risk |
| CT European Select | Europe Excluding UK | GB0001529345 | Higher risk |
| CT High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB0008371014 | Lower risk |
| Fidelity Global Dividend | Global Equity Income | GB00B7778087 | Lower risk |
| Fidelity Index Japan | Japan | GB00BHZK8872 | Medium risk |
| FTF Franklin US Opportunities | North America | GB00B7KCG406 | Higher risk |
| FTF Templeton Global Leaders | Global | GB00B7K6LK38 | Medium risk |
| Invesco Global Equity Income (UK) | Global Equity Income | GB00B3FD1Z66 | Medium risk |
| Invesco Global Focus (UK) | Global | GB00B3KJYG12 | Higher risk |
| Jupiter India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B2NHJ040 | Higher risk |
| Jupiter Monthly Income Bond | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00B1XG8187 | Lower risk |
| Liontrust Global Dividend | Global Equity Income | GB00B9225P64 | Higher risk |
| Liontrust India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B1L6DV51 | Higher risk |
| Man GLG Absolute Value | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BF1X8084 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00BJK3W057 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00BNLYQX62 | Lower risk |
| Ninety One UK Special Situations | UK All Companies | GB00B1XFJS91 | Higher risk |
| Schroder High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00B83RDY83 | Lower risk |
| Schroder Strategic Credit | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00BJZ2ZC09 | Lower risk |
| T. Rowe Price Global Technology Equity | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00BD446K01 | Higher 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 Morant Wright Nippon Yield | Japan | GB00B42MKS95 | Medium 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 |
| abrdn High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB00B79RR984 | Lower risk |
| CT High Yield Bond | Sterling High Yield | GB0008371014 | Lower risk |
| Fidelity Global Dividend | Global Equity Income | GB00B7778087 | Lower risk |
| Jupiter Monthly Income Bond | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00B1XG8187 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG Absolute Value | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BF1X8084 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00BJK3W057 | Lower risk |
| Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB00BNLYQX62 | Lower risk |
| Schroder High Yield Opportunities | Sterling High Yield | GB00B83RDY83 | Lower risk |
| Schroder Strategic Credit | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00BJZ2ZC09 | Lower risk |
| Thesis TM Tellworth UK Select | Targeted Absolute Return | GB00BNY7YM73 | Lower risk |
| Artemis European Select | Europe Excluding UK | GB00B6WFCR53 | Medium risk |
| Artemis Global Income | Global Equity Income | GB00B5N99561 | Medium risk |
| Artemis US Select | North America | GB00BMMV5105 | Medium risk |
| Aviva Inv Global Equity Income | Global Equity Income | GB0030441918 | Medium risk |
| Fidelity Index Japan | Japan | GB00BHZK8872 | Medium risk |
| FTF Templeton Global Leaders | Global | GB00B7K6LK38 | Medium risk |
| Invesco Global Equity Income (UK) | Global Equity Income | GB00B3FD1Z66 | 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 |
| Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets Equity | Global Emerging Markets | GB00BW9HL132 | Higher risk |
| AXA Framlington Global Technology | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00B4W52V57 | Higher risk |
| CT European Select | Europe Excluding UK | GB0001529345 | Higher risk |
| FTF Franklin US Opportunities | North America | GB00B7KCG406 | Higher risk |
| Invesco Global Focus (UK) | Global | GB00B3KJYG12 | Higher risk |
| Jupiter India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B2NHJ040 | Higher risk |
| Liontrust Global Dividend | Global Equity Income | GB00B9225P64 | Higher risk |
| Liontrust India | India/Indian Subcontinent | GB00B1L6DV51 | Higher risk |
| Ninety One UK Special Situations | UK All Companies | GB00B1XFJS91 | Higher risk |
| T. Rowe Price Global Technology Equity | Technology & Technology Innovation | GB00BD446K01 | 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 |
| AXA Framlington Biotech | Specialist | GB00B784NS11 | Higher risk |
| Invesco Global Equity (UK) | Global | GB00B3RS9Q62 | Medium risk |
| Invesco High Yield (UK) | Sterling High Yield | GB00B3RW7649 | Lower risk |
| Invesco Monthly Income Plus (UK) | Sterling Strategic Bond | GB00B1W7J204 | Lower risk |
| Jupiter Financial Opportunities | Financials and Financial Innovation | GB0004790191 | Higher risk |
| Jupiter Merian Global Equity | Global | GB00B1XG8F22 | Medium risk |
| Royal London UK Smaller Companies | UK Smaller Companies | GB00B3NQHL55 | Higher risk |
| Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond | Sterling Corporate Bond | GB0009379370 | Lower risk |
| Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Global Equity | Global | GB00B0ZJ5S47 | Medium risk |
| VT Downing Unique Opportunities | UK All Companies | GB00BHNC2614 | 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 14% (18%)
- UK Fixed Interest 3% (0%)
- Alternatives 16% (16%) - includes absolute return strategies
- North American Equities 29% (27%)
- American Emerging Market Equities 0% (0%)
- Asian Emerging Market Equities 10% (7%)
- European Equities 13% (3%)
- Japanese Equities 7% (7%)
- UK Equities 6% (11%)
- Cash 2% (2%)
- China Equities 0% (0%)
- Property Equities 0% (0%)
- Other international equities 0% (9%)
- 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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