Property, small and mid cap stocks have been hit hard by the EU referendum results, as Quoted Data revealed even the illustrious Neil Woodford is not immune to the Brexit volatility.
The “star” manager’s £670m Patient Capital trust came sixth on research firm’s list of worst performing investment trusts in price terms for June, after losing 13.4 per cent.
The trust, which launched in January 2015, suffered after the share price of one of its largest holdings Circassia, which makes up 4.1 per cent of the portfolio, fell following the announcement that its cat allergy drug was not effective.
Responding to the Quoted Data figures, a spokesman for Woodford said: “We would prefer to be highlighting a period of positive progress for the portfolio in net asset value terms, but it is still very early days for this long-term strategy.”
He also said performance should be viewed in the context of the overall market environment.
“The performance of the trust should not correlate closely to that of the broader UK stock market in the long term, but the quoted element of the portfolio and, in particular, our large cap positions are exposed to the slings and arrows of market sentiment.”
But the £94m Candover Investments trust came out the worst on Quoted Data’s list, losing 22 per cent in June, while JP Morgan’s Mid Cap trust was close behind, falling 18.8 per cent.
Strategic Equity Capital lost 17 per cent during the month, after being hit by a profit warning from its largest holding, Servelec, which comprises 13.3 per cent of the portfolio.
| Worst performing funds in price terms in June | Performance |
| Candover | -22% |
| JP Morgan Mid Cap | -18.8% |
| Strategic Equity Capital | -17% |
| Aberforth Smaller Companies | -15.3% |
| Schroder Real Estate | -14.8% |
| Woodford Patient Capital | -13.4% |
However, at the other end of the spectrum, precious metals, infrastructure and emerging markets produced some of the best returns last month.
Quoted Data found shareholders could have earned as much as 41.9 per cent on their investments in June by investing in the £32m Golden Prospect Precious Metals trust.
This performance was almost double the 22.3 per cent return for those investing in the Vietnam Infrastructure, which came second on the list of best performing investment companies.
BlackRock’s World Mining trust is ranked third on the best performing list, after producing a 19.8 per cent return in June, while the rest of the list was largely made up of emerging market investments, including those exposed to South American and Asian markets.
| Best performing funds in price terms in June | Performance |
| Golden Prospect Precious Metals | 41.9% |
| Vietnam Infrastructure | 22.3% |
| BlackRock World Mining | 19.8% |
| Aberdeen Latin American Income | 19.6% |
| JPMorgan Brazil | 18% |
| EPE Special Opportunities | 17.9% |
Ben Yearsley, investment director at the Wealth Club, said small and mid-sized companies have massively underperformed after Brexit, as investors switched into defensive, safety-first mode.
“Often in the small and micro cap stocks that Woodford Patient Capital owns, very little trading can often lead to big movements in share prices,” he said, noting this could be a good buying opportunity for long-term investors with a 10-year timeframe.
“In terms of the top performers, currency has had a massive impact on performance as those trusts exposed to overseas assets should have done well, as long as they didn’t hedge the currency exposure.
“Lots of the top performers, such as BlackRock World Mining had been horrifically beaten up over the past few years,” added Mr Yearsley.
katherine.denham@ft.com
