Aberdeen New Thai

Over ten years this trust, run by a leading emerging market fund house, has returned huge sums to investors, being up 571.64 per cent over the decade. It wasn’t always so successful, however, falling almost 80 per cent in its first few years of trading.

Performance of fund since launch



Source: FE Analytics

Analysts always say that the problem with emerging markets stories is you never know when they have come to an end until it’s too late. Investors thinking of putting their money in now will wonder whether the boom in the Thai economy has run its course and they should be looking for the next Thailand.

The trust is, however, 17.6 per cent up over the past year and 20.21 per cent over the past six months, suggesting its success story may have further to run.



Vietnam Holding

One single country trust performing well in the year to date is Vietnam Holding, which has made 43.04 per cent since 1 January, putting it among the handful of top performers in 2012.

The trust has, however, gone through periods of poor performance since launching in July 2006, being over 84 per cent down at one point.

 In May the managers told FE Trustnet that they believed that changes in politics and at the central bank had radically changed the outlook for the country, and said the country would benefit from multinationals leaving China as it grew in search of cheaper labour.

Performance of fund since 1 January



Source: FE Analytics



Middlefield Canadian Income Trust

Looking to emerging markets is one way to try and find growth in the post-crisis environment; another is to look at those few Western countries that have stood up relatively well.

Middlefield Canadian Income Trust has made 97.09 per cent for investors over three years. While its 12.15 per cent over five years is less impressive, that has to be read in light of the fact that the average UK high income trust has lost 30.18 per cent over the same period.

Canada has benefitted since the crisis thanks to its relatively low level of indebtedness, while it also has strong mining and energy sectors.

The trust is overweight the energy sector, and blames this for its slight underperformance of the benchmark in the year-to-date.

However, in their fact-sheet at the end of March the managers of the trust said they were backing their position in energy.

“Longer-term, we continue to believe that the oil sector will remain underpinned by strong positive fundamentals, which will support an average price of approximately $100 per barrel over the next five to ten years,” they wrote.

The yield on the fund is currently 5 per cent.



Baillie Gifford Japan

 Steve Russell of the Ruffer Investment Company told FE Trustnet on Wednesday that they are overweight Japan, seeing equities in the country as cheap and perceiving a strengthened political will to target inflation. 

Baillie Gifford Japan has a strong track record, outperforming its rivals at JP Morgan and Schroders over three, five and ten years.

“Sarah Whitley has a good record and this is the trust we like best in this space,” said Ewan Lovett-Turner, analyst at Numis Securities.

The trust is trading at a discount to NAV of 9 per cent, but Lovett-Turner says this is around its average for the year, and lower than its rivals.



JP Morgan Russian Securities

This trust has had a tough year, losing 25.6 per cent, but its three-year returns of 51.42 per cent might entice investors.

The BRICs concept has fallen out of favour in recent years, but managers in the area have said that Russia is the country they have the most confidence in.

The fund has underperformed its benchmark over five years, however.

Performance of fund vs benchmark over 5yrs



Source: FE Analytics