This Year’s ‘Dog Funds’ Revealed

There are many reasons why funds go through periods of poor performance. Key global economic events are one of the many triggers, and we’ve had plenty of those in the past few months.

Each year, Bestinvest releases its Spot the Dog report, which exposes the most poorly performing funds in the industry. It also identifies consistently poor performers and highlights the best-of-breed alternatives, in a bid to give investors a transparent and unbiased overview of how their investments could be performing and whether there are better options available.

The positive news is that, compared to a year ago, there are only 41 funds on the list, down from 54. The level of assets held in dog funds has also dropped dramatically, from £18 billion in the last two editions to £8.6 billion, and not one UK Smaller Companies fund is featured in the latest report. At group level there are also some notable absences from this year’s list, namely M&G, who previously accounted for 60% of dog fund assets.

Below is an overview of the top poor-performing funds to watch out for, from both the above fund houses and other providers in their respective markets. If you’d to know which funds are outrunning the competition, you can view the full report here.

UK Equity
Legal & General UK Alpha
Schroder UK Mid 250*
Standard Life UK Opportunities*
Cavendish UK Select
Aberdeen UK Equity
Aberdeen UK Equity Income
Benchmark: *MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap

European
Aberdeen European Smaller Companies Equity*
Benchmark: *Euromoney Smaller European Companies

Global Emerging Markets
Newton Emerging Income
Threadneedle Global Emerging Markets Equity
Investec Emerging Markets Equity

Asia Pacific
Newton Oriental*
Benchmark: *MSCI AC Pacific ex Japan

North America
Neptune US Opportunities
Henderson US Growth
Aberdeen North American Equity
Smith & Williamson North American
Boston Company US Opportunities
Fidelity American
Cavendish North American
Legg Mason IF Martin Currie North America
Marlborough US Multi-Cap Income

Japanese
Standard Life Japanese Equity Growth
CF Canlife Japan
Fidelity Japan
Threadneedle Japan
Cavendish Japan

Global
GAM International Growth & Value
Neptune Global Income
Henderson World Select
Neptune Global Equity*
EdenTree Amity International
MI Thornbridge Global Opportunities*
Legg Mason IF Martin Currie Global Equity Income
FP Russell International Growth Assets
Legg Mason IF ClearBridge Global Equity Income
Sarasin EquiSar Global Thematic*
Templeton Growth*
Halifax International Growth
Jupiter Global Managed*
UBS Global Optimal*
Investec Global Equity*
Jupiter Global Equity Income
Benchmark: *MSCI AC World

If you have funds invested in any of the above, please do not take any action without seeking professional advice from your financial adviser. If you would like to setup a review of your investment portfolio, please contact your Finura Partners adviser.

Source: Research taken from Bestinvest