The Invesco fund, which also includes Nick Mustoe on its management team, made more in its first year of existence than all but one fund in the entire IMA universe achieved over that time, according to data from FE Analytics.
Its returns of 43.28 per cent were bettered only by JPM Turkey Equity. Neptune UK Mid Cap, the third-best performer, made 40.32 per cent.
Over the past year the fund has made 37.6 per cent while Jupiter International Financials is up 30.29 per cent and Jupiter Global Financials is up 27.82 per cent.
It is currently yielding a healthy 6.64 per cent.
This outperformance came on the back of a good 12 months for the MSCI World Financials index, which rose 25.91 per cent while the MSCI World index was up just 15.37 per cent and the FTSE All Share up 16.3 per cent.
Performance of indices over 1yr
Source: FE Analytics
Banking stocks led the UK market, with Lloyds, which made 85.02 per cent over the year, the best-performing stock on the FTSE 100.
Invesco Perpetual Global Financial Capital focuses on fixed interest, which makes up 86.83 per cent of AUM, and its largest single holding is 5.9 per cent in the bonds of Lloyds. It has just 13.63 per cent in equities.
Causer and Read, the co-heads of fixed interest at Invesco, have long held a significant weighting to European financials in their better-known funds, such as Invesco Perpetual Distribution.
They launched the new portfolio in January of last year to better exploit the value in this sector which they see as recovering steadily following the devastating crisis of 2008.
Causer said: "For several years now we’ve seen the rehabilitation of the financial services sector in the wake of the credit crisis as a secular change in the investment markets and an important investment opportunity."
"We think that banks and other financials are transforming themselves, in line with a changing regulatory environment, into fundamentally different entities creating an interesting investment opportunity."
"It’s because of this that a focus on financial capital securities has been a key part of our strategy since 2009."
Causer says that the fund’s exceptional gains last year came partly through good timing, with the fund launching just as bank bonds were cheap and unwanted.
However, he thinks that there is still value in the instruments in 2013, although the team expects to considerably increase its weighting to equities in the coming months and years.
"When the fund launched, we were able to invest in a wide range of financial bonds with historically high yields that were trading, in many cases, considerably below par," he said.
"The market has recognised the real support that the authorities have supplied and the continuing efforts of the banks themselves to build capital and liquidity. This has pushed yields down and prices up, driving the strong returns for the fund in its first year."
"For 2013, we are looking increasingly at equities and other capital instruments that the banks are issuing. We still see the majority of the value in the bond side of the financial sector but have now raised our equity exposure to 14 per cent."
"We think this could move considerably higher over the coming years as banks return to profitability and distribute dividends."
It takes a lot of conviction to invest in banks at the moment, and many have steered clear.
Sanjeev Shah, manager of the Fidelity Special Situations fund, was long-criticised for his stubbornness in sticking to the banks on valuation grounds during a bad period for the sector.
However, as they recovered last year his fund rose to the top of the IMA UK All Companies sector.
Some managers remain unconvinced that the apparent recovery is sustainable.
Eric Moore, co-manager on the Psigma Income team, headed up by Bill Mott, says he is still wary of the banking sector and is keeping his underweight position.
"We are still worried about balance sheets. They are too big and we are fearful they are not reflective of where the economy is."
Moore points to a recent study that showed there were 15,000 "zombie companies" in the UK – meaning those that are being kept alive by the banks charging artificially low interest rates on loans they have supplied.
This is seen as preferable to seeing the company going under and the bank having to record a loss on its balance sheet.
Moore added: "There are still lots of scandals in the sector and we are worried that interest-only mortgages could be the next to hit."
Interest-only mortgages allow homeowners to repay only the interest to the bank, while making separate provision to repay the principal at the end of the term.
"I don’t believe all those people are making arrangements," Moore said. "A lot of the loans are coming due but it’s hard to get information about numbers. We make enquiries to the banks but we don’t get very far."
"If some little old lady discovers she cannot buy her house, will the banks be able to turf her out? This could be the next PPI scandal, except this time the numbers could be mind-boggling."
Invesco Perpetual Global Financial Capital also invests in financials outside the UK, with large positions in European banks such as BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Commerzbank.
The total expense ratio on the £38.9m fund is 1.51 per cent and the minimum initial investment is £500.
All figures were correct as of Friday, 1 February 2013.