The saying goes that “all that glitters is not gold” but after a year of political shocks and uncertainty it seems that investment companies with exposure to the ‘shiny stuff’ – whether gold, precious metals, or natural resources – have made a comeback.
The top performing investment company sector over the year to date is Sector Specialist: Commodities and Natural Resources, up 72% – something of a respite for a sector that has fallen in each of the previous four calendar years.
“It’s been a year of surprises, and investment company performance has consequently had its ups and downs but performance for the sector as a whole has been resilient over the year,” said Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director, Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
“Sectors that had a challenging time in 2015, like Commodities and Natural Resources and Global Emerging Markets, are this year’s ‘come back kids’, with some UK-focused sectors having a more difficult time given sterling’s weakness.”
Given the post Brexit Referendum sterling weakness, it is not surprising to see overseas-focused investment companies leading the way in performance terms over the year to date, with North America the second top performing sector, up 34%, followed by Global Emerging Markets and Global Equity Income (each up 31%), and Country Specialists: Asia Pacific (up 28%).
Not all plain sailing
The closed-ended sector has had a good year in share price total return terms, with the average investment company up 12%, no doubt boosted by the sector’s high overseas exposure. But it hasn’t all been plain sailing and UK-focused investment companies post the Referendum have had a more difficult time, with the UK Smaller Companies sector down 10% and the UK All Companies sector down 4%.
Conversely, in 2015 the reverse was true: the UK Smaller Companies sector outperformed the average investment company by 15 percentage points in the previous year to 30 November 2015, whilst the UK All Companies sector beat the average investment company by 12 percentage points over the same timeframe.
“2016 highlights the importance of having a balanced portfolio and a long-term view,” said Brodie-Smith. “One year’s underperformers can be the next year’s winners showing how important it is not to react to short-term market movements.
“The investment company sector houses a broad variety of sectors, risk profiles and geographical exposure, and investors need to consider their investment objectives and risk profile when looking at potential investments. Some investors might like to consider monthly investing to help smooth out some of the highs and lows in the price of shares. If investors have any concerns they should speak to a financial adviser.”
Top performing sectors over year to date – share price % total return to 30 November 2016
VCTs
The VCT sector was up an average of 3% over the year to date said Brodie-Smith. Leading the pack in sector terms were VCT Specialist: Environmental and VCT Generalist, each up an average of 4%, and VCT: AIM Quoted, up 3%.
VCT sectors – share price % total return to 30 November 2016
Data is to 30 November 2016 based on the last official close price at the month end, on a % share price total return basis. No expenses taken into account. Source: AIC using Morningstar.
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