Landing in third spot, behind the CF Woodford Equity Income Fund and the Fundsmith Equity Fund, the fund returns to the list after a significant absence.
Over the past several years, commodities and gold have been shunned by investors as prices continued to fall. However, when markets are gripped with fear and uncertainty, investors often seek the perceived safe haven of gold as a protection,” explained Andy Parsons, head of investment research at The Share Centre as way of explanation.
The Woodford fund’s appearance at the top of the list marks the ninth consecutive month in pole position and, said Parsons demonstrates that “investors continue to want to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of one of the industry’s most highly respected fund managers”.
A similar argument can be made for Terry Smith, manager of the Fundsmith Equity Fund.
Rounding out the top five are the CF Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund, which moved up a place to fourth and the AXA Framlington Biotech Fund.
But, while the Miton fund’s presence is as a result of inflows, the AXA fund owes its ranking more to sales than to purchases, said Parsons.
“The biotech sector came under real pressure in January during the market sell off, losing around 20%. As an investment theme and long term story, we still believe that this is an exciting sector to have exposure to, albeit appreciating the risks and volatility that can bring to a portfolio,” he added.
