Only 10 funds in the IA Global sector that were top-quartile performers in 2020 have maintained their rank in the first half of 2021.
Last year the MSCI World index experienced a swift drawdown following the panic around the coronavirus, before rapidly recovering and finishing the calendar year with a 12.32 per cent return.
Performance of global equity funds during 2020
Source: FE Analytics
But the 12-month period was characterised by extremes as growth stocks outperformed while value stocks lagged, technology stocks soared and energy stocks collapsed.
This led to a wide divergence in the performance of IA Global funds: about three quarters of top-quartile funds in 2020 more than doubled the MSCI World’s 12.32 per cent return.
The picture has changed markedly this year. As at the end of the first half of 2021, the MSCI World is up 12.55 per cent but about three quarters of IA Global funds are lagging behind.
Performance of global equity funds during H1 2021
Source: FE Analytics
And just 10 funds in the sector that were top-quartile performers in 2020 have maintained this position in 2021.
Source: FE Analytics
The best performer of the funds featured in the list is the £598m L&G Battery Value-Chain UCITS ETF, a passive thematic exchange-traded fund (ETF).
It tracks the performance of a basket of stocks that provide electro-chemical energy storage technologies and mining companies that produce metals used to manufacture batteries.
Its largest holding is in NASDAQ-listed Eos Energy Enterprises, an energy storage technology company based in the US. It also has top-10 holdings in vehicle manufacturers BMW and Daimler.
Another passive thematic ETF that features in the table is the £455m L&G Ecommerce Logistics UCITS ETF. This ETF tracks the performance of a basket of logistics service providers and technology companies engaged in ecommerce.
Its largest holding is in Euronext-listed Belgian postal firm Bpost. Other top-10 holdings include postal companies United Parcel Service and Deustche Post, as well as global shipping firm Maersk.
GAM Star Disruptive Growth boasts the highest five-year performance figures of the 10 funds in the table.
The £583m global equity strategy is run by FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Mark Hawtin, who focuses on investing in growth stocks whose business models are driven by new technologies.
US technology giants Facebook and Alphabet, and data storage firm Seagate, make up three of the fund’s top positions.
Earlier this year when growth stocks sold off heavily, the fund had a high cash level which cushioned the blow to performance relative to other high-growth peers.
Another active strategy on the list is the £309m Nomura American Century Global Small Cap Equity fund, run by Trevor Gurwich and Federico Laffan.
This global small-cap equity strategy focuses on identifying inflection points in the relatively inefficient small-cap space to generate capital growth.
Last year, Gurwich said that global small-cap stocks looked cheap relative to large-caps – something he said investors do not see very often.
The £490m Guinness Global Innovators fund also made the list, with the second-highest five-year total return of the group.
The fund benefited from the surge in semiconductor stocks that occurred in the first quarter of 2021 on the back of a shortage in the equipment that emerged after the coronavirus pandemic.
It is run by Ian Mortimer and Matthew Page, who run an equally weighted portfolio where each of its 30 positions makes up roughly 3.33 per cent of the portfolio.
Elsewhere in the table, the £6.3bn Purisima Global Total Return fund is the largest global equity fund to feature. It aims to reduce risk by diversification, whilst also maintaining exposure to all major markets.
Some of its top holdings are in US technology giants Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. It also holds a position in Chinese technology giant Tencent.