Funds for the pandemic

The market sell-off that began in February 2020 has been the fastest ever bear market. In a matter of weeks, equity markets were down almost 40% across the board. Investors were caught out by the speed and unforgiving nature of the sell-off. As my recent newsletters have explained, there have been few havens. Even bonds capitulated alongside other traditional haven assets such as gold.

Positive momentum across asset markets evaporated and the downtrend has not yet been reversed. It has, of course, meant that the 80-20 Investor BFBS tables have dwindled leaving just a smattering of funds, mostly invested in government bonds, such as gilts and treasuries. In fact the table below shows the only funds out of the 2,320 unit trusts out there to have made a profit during the sell-off between 20th February and the low of the 23rd March.

Name Member Of ISIN Code % Return 20/02/2020 to 23/03/2020 M&G Global Government Bond Global Bonds GB00B7J76C49 1.16 M&G European Corporate Bond Global Bonds GB00B7MT0707 0.91 Royal London European Corporate Bond Global Bonds GB00BG0ZNN01 1.76 ASI Euro Corporate Bond Global Bonds GB00BWK27T75 0.29 BNY Mellon International Bond Global Bonds GB0006779655 9.73 Courtiers Investment Grade Bond Global Bonds GB00BYXVV711 2.6 iShares Overseas Government Bond Index (UK) Global Bonds GB00B849C803 12.84 Janus Henderson Inst Overseas Bond Global Bonds GB0007673055 10.88 M&G Global Macro Bond Global Bonds GB00B78PLC47 9.17 Royal London International Government Bond Global Bonds GB00B45XHL18 0.44 Scottish Widows International Bond Global Bonds GB0031910978 11.56 T.