Hindsight is a powerful thing – and profitable too when it comes to investment. If you could have known in January that certain technology trusts would have doubled your money by the new school year for example, then retirement planning would be considerably easier.
There are always stand-out investments every year. In 2014 biotech outperformed, as did property – and if you had called the top of the Chinese stock market before it began to falter in June this year you could have crystallised incredible gains.
A list of the best performing investment trusts so far this year features property funds, UK smaller companies and venture capital trusts. But what about the trusts which will make the list next year? Predicting the future always contains some guess work, but Morningstar fund analysts do most of the hardwork for you. Using the free closed-end fund screener you can the top performing investment trusts that have also been awarded the highest medal rating by analysts – meaning that they are the best in sector, and are most likely to outperform their peers over the long term.
If you believe in momentum investing, and prefer not to make contrarian bets in your portfolio, you can identify those trusts that have fared well so far this year, and are rated Gold, Silver or Bronze – and so are likely to continue to outperform. We reveal the top three highly rated, high performers year-to-date, below.
Standard Life UK Smaller Companies (SLS)
Morningstar fund analysts think Standard Life UK Smaller Companies is a strong offering. Fund manager Harry Nimmo remains a key strength. He is an experienced small-cap investor who has managed money in this style through a variety of market cycles.
He has run this fund since September 2003 and its open-ended sister fund since 1997, remaining true to his philosophy throughout. Although Nimmo spends the majority of his time on the UK strategy, he also heads a team that is backup to four members focused on small caps following the arrival of Andrew Paisley. The investment trust as a Gold Rating.
BlackRock Throgmorton (THRG)
BlackRock won this mandate in July 2008 and until April 2014, it has been run by Mike Prentis and Richard Plackett. Since then, Dan Whitestone has replaced Plackett. Morningstar fund analysts think it’s a proven fund with managers using a tried-and-tested process. The fund has a Silver Rating.
BlackRock Smaller Companies (BRSC)
Run by Mike Prentis since 2002, the management of this fund moved with him from 3i to BlackRock in 2005. Prentis is part of the small but tight-knit UK Smaller Companies team at BlackRock, which feeds into the broader UK Equity team.
Morningstar analysts like the team’s process, which is applied consistently across all their mandates. They look for sustainable growth opportunities that meet five key criteria; not all five need to be met at the time of purchase, but the expectation is that they will ultimately do so.
