The Legg Mason IF Japan Equity Fund topped the lot with a return of 49.35% over the course of the year, according to FE Analytics data, compared to a sector return of 15.7%, significantly better than the next fund with more than $100m pounds in assets under management, the Man GLG Continental European Growth Fund, which returned 31% over the same period. Although it is worth pointing out that over the course of 2014, the £467m Legg Mason fund returned -1.35%, while the sector produced a return of 0.6%.
Other Japanese funds to make the cut were the £274m Baillie Gifford Japanese Smaller Companies Fund, sitting firmly in the centre of the Venn diagram of both the top performing sectors, with a return of 28% that put it in sixth place and the JPM Japan Fund which took eighth place with a 27% return over the year.
Outside Japan but remaining in Asia, the Invesco Korean Fund, bucked the Japan/small cap trend with a return of 25.9%.
