80-20 Investor Best of the Best Selection – May 2026 Update

Commentary

April was a month where equity markets rebounded after a difficult March. While the BOTB selection had a positive month, it was a rare occasion where the underlying fund choice, rather than the asset mix, hampered its performance versus its benchmarks. That is because the BOTB had less exposure to large US tech stocks (and therefore the AI theme) than its benchmarks. As the latest 80-20 Investor growth heatmap shows, technology stocks were the big winners during April, turning around an extended period of underperformance versus the wider market. With more of a focus on value stocks than growth stocks, the BOTB rebound was therefore more measured. Also, energy and commodity prices fell during the month as hopes of a Middle East peace deal saw energy prices fall, and therefore the two BOTB funds with exposure to energy stocks/commodities also fell. However, with the geopolitical situation still very volatile, this could change in the coming weeks. With the 80-20 Investor algorithm taking into account momentum beyond just April, 17 funds retained their place in May's BOTB.

Digging deeper into the performance of individual funds, it emphasises how funds with exposure to US equities and Asian/Emerging market chipmakers benefited from a rebound in the enthusiasm for AI. These funds also benefited from the easing in energy prices and the US dollar index falling. It's good to see that BNY Mellon Asian Income and Artemis Global Income, both of which are in my £50k portfolio, performed well.

Fund	April 2026 % return
BNY Mellon Asian Income	10.8
BNY Mellon Emerging Income	10.73
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	8.87
Lazard Emerging Markets	7.85
Schroder US Mid Cap	7.52
Artemis Global Income	6.61

At the other end of the scale, funds with exposure to energy struggled as hopes of a peace deal in the Middle East saw the price of oil fall back below $100 a barrel. However, this could be about to change as May has started with a potential escalation in the war between the US and Iran.

Fund	April 2026 % return
Royal London Sterling Credit	0
WS Lightman European	-0.06
BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Income	-0.93
AXA Framlington Biotech	-1
BlackRock Natural Resources	-2.67
WS Guinness Global Energy	-4.05

In terms of asset mix, May's BOTB has shifted, with US equities now the largest equity component of the selection, following a reduction in UK equity exposure. The full asset breakdown can be found at the foot of this article.

Below I list this month's selection in full, with the 17 funds that retained 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.

May'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 Global Infrastructure Equity	Infrastructure	GB00B6Z39T70	Medium risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B2PLJD73	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	Global	GB00B2PLJP95	Higher risk
BlackRock Natural Resources	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Asian Income	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B8KT3V48	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Emerging Income	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B8GGF462	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Inflation Linked Corporate Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B8HY5051	Lower risk
BNY Mellon Real Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B8GG4B61	Lower risk
Fidelity Asia	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B6Y7NF43	Higher risk
Fidelity Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B9SMK778	Higher risk
Invesco European Focus (UK)	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B28J0Q84	Medium risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
M&G Global Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B46J9127	Medium risk
Man High Yield Opportunities Fund	Sterling High Yield	GB00BJK3W057	Lower risk
Premier Miton Cautious Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B0W1V856	Lower risk
Premier Miton Defensive Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B0525B66	Lower risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B78H4K93	Medium risk
Premier Miton UK Multi Cap Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B41NHD71	Medium risk
Royal London Short Duration Credit	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KW800	Lower risk
Royal London Short Duration Global Index Linked	Global Bonds	GB00BD050F05	Lower risk
Schroder Global Recovery	Global	GB00BYRJXL91	Medium risk
Schroder MM Diversity	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B60CZD52	Lower risk
Schroder US Mid Cap	North America	GB00B7LDLV43	Higher risk
T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Value Equity	North America	GB00BD446M25	Higher risk
TwentyFour Monument Bond	Specialist	GB00B3V5V897	Lower risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
WS Guinness Global Energy	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B56FW078	Higher risk
WS Havelock Global Select	Global	GB00BFM7DN78	Medium risk
WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	Higher risk

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

(funds unchanged from last month are in black while new additions are in green):

Name	Sector	ISIN Code	Risk
BNY Mellon Inflation Linked Corporate Bond	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00B8HY5051	Lower risk
BNY Mellon Real Return	Targeted Absolute Return	GB00B8GG4B61	Lower risk
Invesco High Yield (UK)	Sterling High Yield	GB00B3RW7649	Lower risk
Man High Yield Opportunities Fund	Sterling High Yield	GB00BJK3W057	Lower risk
Premier Miton Cautious Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B0W1V856	Lower risk
Premier Miton Defensive Multi Asset	Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares	GB00B0525B66	Lower risk
Royal London Short Duration Credit	Sterling Strategic Bond	GB00BJ4KW800	Lower risk
Royal London Short Duration Global Index Linked	Global Bonds	GB00BD050F05	Lower risk
Schroder MM Diversity	Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares	GB00B60CZD52	Lower risk
TwentyFour Monument Bond	Specialist	GB00B3V5V897	Lower risk
abrdn Global Infrastructure Equity	Infrastructure	GB00B6Z39T70	Medium risk
Artemis Global Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B5N99561	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP European Equity	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B2PLJD73	Medium risk
Invesco European Focus (UK)	Europe Excluding UK	GB00B28J0Q84	Medium risk
M&G Global Dividend	Global Equity Income	GB00B46J9127	Medium risk
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth & Income	Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares	GB00B78H4K93	Medium risk
Premier Miton UK Multi Cap Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B41NHD71	Medium risk
Schroder Global Recovery	Global	GB00BYRJXL91	Medium risk
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index	UK Equity Income	GB00B59G4H82	Medium risk
WS Havelock Global Select	Global	GB00BFM7DN78	Medium risk
Artemis SmartGARP Global Equity	Global	GB00B2PLJP95	Higher risk
BlackRock Natural Resources	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B6865B79	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Asian Income	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B8KT3V48	Higher risk
BNY Mellon Emerging Income	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B8GGF462	Higher risk
Fidelity Asia	Asia Pacific Excluding Japan	GB00B6Y7NF43	Higher risk
Fidelity Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B9SMK778	Higher risk
Schroder US Mid Cap	North America	GB00B7LDLV43	Higher risk
T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Value Equity	North America	GB00BD446M25	Higher risk
WS Guinness Global Energy	Commodity/Natural Resources	GB00B56FW078	Higher risk
WS Morant Wright Nippon Yield	Japan	GB00B42MKS95	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
BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Income	Infrastructure	GB00BDR8GH68	Medium risk
CT Latin America	Latin America	GB0001531754	Higher risk
iShares 100 UK Equity Index (UK)	UK All Companies	GB00B7W4GQ69	Medium risk
L&G UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B6HBD759	Medium risk
Lazard Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	GB00B24F1G74	Higher risk
M&G Short Dated Corporate Bond	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB0031110397	Lower risk
Man Japan Core Alpha	Japan	GB00B0119B50	Higher risk
Man Sterling Corporate Bond Fund	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00BNLYQX62	Lower risk
Royal London Sterling Credit	Sterling Corporate Bond	GB00B8GJ8S05	Lower risk
Schroder Global Equity Income	Global Equity Income	GB00B76V7M69	Medium risk
UBS UK Equity Income	UK Equity Income	GB00B4W58959	Medium risk
WS Lightman European	Europe Excluding UK	GB00BGPFJN79	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 21% (20%)
• UK Fixed Interest 0% (0%)
• Alternatives 10% (6%) - includes absolute return strategies
• North American Equities 16% (12%)
• Emerging Market Equities 6% (8%)
• Asian Equities 7% (9%)
• European Equities 11% (9%)
• Japanese Equities 5% (5%)
• UK Equities 10% (15%)
• Cash 2% (2%)
• China Equities 0% (0%)
• Property Equities 0% (0%)
• Other International Equities 5% (4%)
• Gilts 0% (3%)
• Commodities and Energy 7% (7%)

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 and has doubled in value.

 

 

 

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