Artemis’ UK Select fund was the top performer in the year to October 31, according to Bestinvest's latest ranking of actively managed equity funds.
The fund invests between 80 and 100 per cent in equities, with the remainder in bonds, and posted a total return of 56.4 per cent in the year.
Its current top holdings are 3i Group (with a 5.2 per cent exposure), Barclays (4.8 per cent), and tech firm Oxford Instruments.
The second best performing fund was Fidelity’s Special Situations, which returned 51.7 per cent in the year, and just behind it at number three was TM RWC UK Equity Income, with a return of 51.5 per cent.
The top ten performing funds YTD October 31
| Fund | IA Sector | OCF | Yield | 1 yr | 5yr |
| Artemis UK Select | UK All Companies | 0.84 | 1.4 | 56.4 | 78 |
| Fidelity Special Situations | UK All Companies | 0.91 | 1.5 | 51.7 | 36 |
| TM RWC UK Equity Income | UK Equity Income | 0.86 | 2.9 | 51.5 | n/a |
| Dodge & Cox Worldwide US Stock | North America | 0.63 | 0.8 | 50.3 | 82 |
| BlackRock European Dynamic | Europe excl. UK | 0.92 | 0 | 45.5 | 135 |
| Jupiter UK Special Situations | UK All Companies | 0.76 | 2.5 | 43.4 | 22 |
| ASI UK Ethical Equity | UK All Companies | 0.9 | 0.4 | 38.8 | 57 |
| Brown Advisory US Sustainable Growth | North America | 0.87 | 0.3 | 38.6 | n/a |
| Premier Miton UK Growth | UK All Companies | 0.92 | 0.8 | 38.2 | 94 |
| Threadneedle UK Equity | UK Equity Income | 0.82 | 3 | 37.9 | 33 |
| MSCI United Kingdom All Cap | 36.37 | ||||
| S&P 500 | 34.81 | ||||
| MSCI World | 33.05 |
Source: Bestinvest
Jason Hollands, managing director of Bestinvest, said while it was inadvisable to rely solely on past performance as a guide in choosing investments, it was instructive to see how active managers fared in a recovering market.
“Now that vaccines and boosters are very much back in the news, it might be we have seen the best of the post-Covid crash gains for equities,” he said.
He added it was pleasing to see many of the top rated funds have outperformed the market, particularly in the UK.
“[The UK] continues to lag many global rivals but which remains a relative bargain – a point not lost on the many international bidders for UK companies this year.
“While the 'easy money' phase may be over, shares continue to look relatively attractive compared to bonds – especially in the UK, but with markets having rallied so hard, it is more important than ever now to be discerning about the quality of the companies you invest in and also the prices you pay for them.”
Figures released by the Investment Association yesterday (December 2) showed that retail investment fund sales slumped in October to their lowest level since September 2020.
Some £1.7bn of net investment flowed into funds in October, down from £2.3bn in September, with a noticeable drop in flows to equity funds.
sally.hickey@ft.com
