The top…
China funds continued to dominate the top performers list on the three-year basis at the end of June. Among funds registered for sale in Hong Kong and Singapore, the UBS China A Opportunity Fund, the Allianz China A-shares Fund and the Schroder China Equity Alpha Fund all doubled in value since 30 June 2014. Two of them topped the list in May.
| Fund | Three-year return, in US dollars |
| UBS China A Opportunity Fund | 115.5% |
| Allianz China A-Shares Fund | 108.5% |
| Schroder China Equity Alpha Fund | 99.6% |
Data: FE, on 30 June 2017
During the same time, the MSCI China A Index grew by 47% and China funds on average delivered a 24% return.
On a one-year basis, European financial funds performed well in June. The iShares Euro Stoxx Banks 30-15 Ucits ETF led the pack with the annual return of 67.7%. (Three other ETFs based on the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index were among the top 10 best performers).
The Old Mutual UK Smaller Companies Focus Fund also had a great year, delivering a 67.1% return. Natixis’ two mixed-asset funds, the H2O Multistrategies and the H2O Vivace delivered 63% returns.
The spectacular one-year performance of these funds follows a lacklustre previous 12 months and their bottoming out in the beginning of July 2016, as illustrated on the chart.
The bottom…
The worst performers over the last three years did not change since May. The euro-denominated UBS CMCI Oil ETF, the Castlestone Aliquot Precious Metals Fund and the Schroder ISF Global Energy Fund remained at the bottom of the list, each losing 62%-70% during the past three years.
| Fund | Three-year return, in US dollars |
| UBS CMCI Oil ETF | -69.8% |
| Castlestone Aliquot Precious Metals Fund | -68.4% |
| Schroder ISF Global Energy Fund | -62.0% |
Data: FE, on 30 June 2017
While the summer of 2014 was the peak of the energy equity sector, the average fund lost about 30% since then. June 2014 marked the beginning of the slide in oil prices that persisted until January 2016, impacting the three-year performance of funds exposed to it.
Turning to one-year performance, precious metals, gold mines and the long-short Odey Swan fund remain at the bottom. The Castlestone Aliquot Precious Metals fund lost 38% during the year, the Odey Swan lost 29% and the Amundi CPR Global Gold Mines Fund lost 23.4%.
