Blurred symmetry in Q1 fund performance figures
5 Apr 16
What a difference a year makes. In the first quarter of 2015, the top 10 funds were a mixture of Japanese equities, Russian equities, and biotechnology funds, with a frontier markets fund rounding things out.
Gold funds were the clear winners over a quarter, which is understandable given that the metal had its best quarter for three decades. But, while they have done very well in the past three months, it is worth bearing in mind just how torrid a time gold markets have had over slightly longer periods of time.
The MFM Junior Gold fund took top spot with a return of 65.3%, and is up 22% over the past 12 months. Over five years however, the £8m fund is down 81% according to data from FE Analytics.
Gold funds also took the next six spots in the top 10, if one includes the Old Mutual version of the BlackRock Gold and General Fund in the list.
Rounding out the yellow metal’s presence in the top 10 is the tiny SF Peterson Smaller Companies Gold Fund. Run by Peter Webb, better known as the founder of Unicorn Asset Management, the fund produced a creditable 28% return
