Here are five funds that have leapt from one or two FE Crowns to the maximum rating. 


M&G Extra Income

Richard Hughes’ fund was one of only six of 21 in the IMA UK Equity & Bond sector to have made money in 2011, when the FTSE All Share was down 3.46 per cent. 

It has continued its good run into 2012, with year-to-date returns of 8 per cent, making it the second-best performer in the sector. 

Performance of fund vs sector over 3-yrs



Source: FE Analytics

The fund uses UK equities and corporate bonds to generate income and its current historic yield of 4.72 per cent puts it in fourth place in the sector. 

Although it has 166 holdings, 20 per cent of the fund is made up of four big hitters: Royal Dutch Shell, BAT, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodafone. 

It requires a minimum investment of £500 and has a TER of 1.41 per cent. 


Aberdeen Multi-Manager Ethical Portfolio

Ethical funds don’t have a reputation for outstanding performance, but this multi-manager portfolio has returned 26.38 per cent over three years, with an average volatility of 14.95 per cent. 

It has more or less tracked its bespoke benchmark over that time period, but has strongly outperformed year-to-date.

The fund aims to invest primarily in shares or funds that have an ethically, socially or environmentally responsible focus. It has 18.9 per cent in emerging market rival First State’s Asia Pacific Sustainability fund. 

FE Trustnet recently reported on the strong performance of the First State fund, which has beaten both First State Asia Pacific and First State Asia Pacific Leaders in the year-to-date and contributed to the Aberdeen fund's recent good results.

Aberdeen Multi-Manager Ethical Portfolio has a minimum investment of £1,000 and a hefty TER of 2.71 per cent.


Threadneedle Navigator Cautious Managed

This fund – which as a fettered portfolio invests solely in Threadneedle’s other products – has more than doubled the returns of its IMA Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares sector on a one-year and six- and three-month periods.

Funds in this sector aim to provide steadier performance, and Threadneedle Cautious Managed has a three-year annualised volatility score of just 5.74 per cent, compared with 15.2 per cent for the FTSE All Share. 

Investors would have gained 51.57 per cent on the FTSE All Share over three years as opposed to 33.53 per cent, but with three times the volatility.

The average fund in the sector has a volatility of 4.8 per cent but has gained less money over the period. 

Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark over 3-yrs



Source: FE Analytics

Managed by Alex Lyle since 1999, the fund is available with a minimum initial investment of £1,000 and has a total expense ratio (TER) of 1.54 per cent.


Baillie Gifford Emerging Markets Bond

This fund is more volatile than its sector and benchmark, but has significantly outperformed both in recent months.

Baillie Gifford is well known for its long-term approach and low turnover, which often means it experiences periods of difficulty in the short-term. 

Over three years it is a top-quartile performer in the IMA Global Bonds sector, with returns of 37.73 per cent, but has fallen behind its JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index benchmark during this time.

Managed by Sally Greig and Steven Hay, the fund requires a minimum investment of £1,000 and has a TER of 1.34 per cent.


AXA Framlington Managed Income

This fund has made 55.88 per cent over three years, compared with 33.57 per cent from its IMA Sterling Strategic Bond sector, which also serves as its benchmark. 

An underlying yield of 6.33 per cent puts it in the top quartile of the sector for income.

Performance of fund vs sector/benchmark over 3-yrs



Source: FE Analytics

Managed by George Luckraft, the portfolio is available with a minimum investment of £1,000, and has a TER of 1.12 per cent.