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Fund Research & Insights

The Best- and Worst-Performing Funds in April

In a month of tariff turmoil, more than half of all Morningstar Medalist Rated funds lost ground.

Sunniva Kolostyak 6 May, 2025 | 8:54AM
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Property, Europe, and UK funds were the best performers in April, a month dominated by trade wars and tariff news. Meanwhile, energy funds and China struggled.

Over the course of the month, many of the markets initially hit by the tariff selloff managed to recover to April 2 levels. Brazil, India, Japan, and UK fully recovered before the end of the month.

Of the 3,000-some funds with a Morningstar Medalist Rating available for sale in the UK, over half had a negative month and seven saw double digit losses.

Indirect European property topped the performance list for April, spearheaded by Aberdeen’s European Real Estate fund which grew 7.69% over the month. UK mid-cap equities, European equities, long-duration euro bonds, and even US large-cap growth categories also featured in the top 10.

At the opposite end, the list of bottom performers was dominated by energy equities as Brent crude oil fell 20% in April. Most of the bottom 20 were China equities—Neuberger Berman China Equity was the worst performing China fund, down 10.66%. However, the worst performer in April was Guinness Global Energy, down 14.56%.

This is how the best and worst funds performed in April.

Best-Performing Funds in April

abrdn European Real Estate Share Fund


The £42.4 million abrdn European Real Estate Share Fund rose 7.69% over the past month. The gain on the actively managed fund beat the 6.06% gain on the average fund in the property—indirect Europe category, leaving it in the 26th percentile for performance. The fund performed roughly in line with its benchmark, the Morningstar Developed Markets Europe Real Estate Index. Year to date, the abrdn fund rose 7.77%, while the average fund in its category rose 7.05%. Over the past five years, the fund has climbed 0.78%, compared with the 0.53% gain for the category.

VT Downing European Unconstrained Income Fund


The actively managed VT Downing European Unconstrained Income Fund gained 6.46% over the past month, outperforming the average fund in the Europe ex-uk equity category, which rose 1.62%. The fund placed in the first percentile for performance and beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Developed Europe ex-UK Target Market Exposure Index, by 5.17 percentage points. The £37.8 million fund has gained 8.86% year to date, while the average fund in its category is up 6.61%. The Valu-Trac fund was launched in Nov. 2020.

Janus Henderson Horizon Pan European Property Equities Fund


Over the past month, the actively managed Janus Henderson Horizon Pan European Property Equities Fund rose 6.22%, while the average property—indirect Europe fund gained 6.06%. The fund placed in the 42nd percentile for performance and lagged its benchmark, the Morningstar Developed Markets Europe Real Estate Index, by 1.8 percentage points. The £461.1 million fund has climbed 5.07% year to date, underperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 7.05%. Over the past five years, the Janus Henderson fund is up 2.03%, while the average fund in its category is up 0.53%.

Worst-Performing Funds in April

WS Guinness Global Energy Fund


The actively managed WS Guinness Global Energy Fund lost 14.56% over the past month, performing roughly in line with the average fund in the equity energy category, which fell 11.75%. The fund placed in the 57th percentile for performance and performed roughly in line with its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Energy Index. The £43.6 million fund has lost 9.33% year to date, while the average fund in its category is down 7.78%. Over the past five years, the fund has climbed 14.92%, compared with the 15.4% gain for the category.

BlackRock Global Funds—World Energy Fund


Over the past month, the actively managed BlackRock Global Funds—World Energy Fund fell 13.82%, while the average equity energy fund lost 11.75%. The fund placed in the 72nd percentile for performance and fell further than its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Energy Index, by 1.22 percentage points. The £1.4 billion fund has dropped 10.37% year to date, falling further than the average fund in its category, which fell 7.78%. Over the past five years, the BlackRock fund is up 15.8%, while the average fund in its category is up 15.4%.

Goldman Sachs North America Energy & Energy Infrastructure Equity Portfolio


The £64.8 million Goldman Sachs North America Energy & Energy Infrastructure Equity Portfolio fell 13.50% over the past month. The loss on the actively managed fund was worse than the 11.75% loss on the average fund in the equity energy category, leaving it in the 59th percentile for performance. The fund fell further than its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Energy Index, by 0.9 percentage points. Year to date, the Goldman Sachs fund fell 9.05%, while the average fund in its category fell 7.78%. Over the past five years, the fund has climbed 21.31%, compared with the 15.4% gain for the category.


This article was generated with the help of automation and reviewed by Morningstar editors. Learn more about Morningstar’s use of automation.

The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar's editorial policies.

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About Author

Sunniva Kolostyak

Sunniva Kolostyak  is senior data journalist for Morningstar.co.uk

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