80-20 Investor Best of the Best Selection – March 2020 Update

As you will have read in March’s newsletter, February 2020 will be talked about for years to come. Markets finally capitulated, with COVID-19 being the catalyst for a long-overdue correction. In such an environment all ships sink at once.

The only funds to make money were those invested in high-quality bonds (such as those issued by governments). Of the 2145 funds available to investors, which invest in a range of assets, 92% of them lost money in February. It’s a pattern reflected in February’s BOTB where only 10% of the funds made a profit. The three funds that did were Vanguard UK Long Duration Gilt Index (up 2.2%), ASI Sterling Bond (up 1.08%) and Schroder Strategic Bond (up 0.07%). At the other end of the spectrum, was Slater Growth which fell over 10%, a by-product of a month where the FTSE 100 fell 9%.

As a whole, the average return of February’s BOTB was -4.80%, which compares to a -4.68% average return by funds in the Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares.