China funds were the worst performing category of any fund in January, while the strength of the tech sector continued to shine.
Throughout last month, the average China fund lost 9.2 per cent of its value, followed by UK index linked gilt funds, which lost 5.9 per cent, and Latin American funds, which lost 4.4 per cent.
Ben Yearsley, director of Fairview Investing, said: “China can’t seem to escape the doom loop – Beijing need a big bang to pull markets from historic lows.”
Redwheel China Equity was the worst performing fund of the month, while Baillie Gifford Climate Optimism followed close behind.
“Surely, they need to drop the optimistic tag with it performing so poorly?” asked Yearsley.
FundsReturns over January (per cent)Redwheel China Equity-17Baillie Gifford Climate Optimism-16.8Active Solar-16.7Amati Strategic Metals-16.7Baillie Gifford China-13.4Source: FE Analytics
In contrast, the best performing fund sector of the month was tech, gaining 4.8 per cent over the month, followed by North America (three per cent), financials (2.4 per cent), Japan (2.4 per cent) and India (1.8 per cent).
Yearsley added: “The positive equity stories of 2023 all continue with tech, India, and Japan all starting 2024 with a bang. Two of those areas look pretty expensive – then again they almost always do.”
“Japan remains one of the most interesting stories with corporate change and more shareholder awareness helping drive markets.”
FundsReturns over January (per cent)Oxeye Hedged Income+9.5Axiom Concentrated Global Growth+9.4AQR Sustainable Delphi Long Short Equity+8.9Polar Capital Global Technology+8.8Lord Abbett Innovation Growth+8.8Source: FE Analytics
Looking to investment trusts, the specific nature of the investment vehicle lead to big differences compared to open ended funds, with Seraphim Space gaining a whopping 49.4 per cent over the month.
Other strong performers included Foresight Sustainable Forestry, gaining 27.1 per cent, as the only investment trust of its type.
Investment trustsReturns over January (per cent)Seraphim Space+49.4Foresight Sustainable Forestry+27.1Geiger Counter+14.1Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities+12.1Tufton Oceanic Assets+11.5Source: FE Analytics
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