Investors who want a stabilising anchor to reduce portfolio volatility may turn to the more cautious multi-asset funds listed in the IA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector. These strategies aim to balance more exposure to lower risk fixed income with enough equities to support long-term returns.
For those seeking this kind of stability, identifying the strategies that have repeatedly gotten the balance right is an important part of fund selection.
Trustnet mapped the discrete annual returns of funds in the IA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector between 2016 to 2025, finding that 10 funds beat the sector average in at least eight of the 10 years. Barclays Global Markets Balanced and CT Global Multi Asset Income outperformed the sector average in nine years.
Source: FE Analytics. Figures highlighted in red represent years in which a fund underperformed the IA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector average.
When looking at the total return made over those 10 years, three of the funds in the above table were the top three in the whole sector: Artemis Monthly Distribution, Royal London Sustainable Diversified Trust and Barclays Global Markets Balanced.
Starting with the strongest 10-year return, Artemis Monthly Distribution gained 120.9% between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2025. It was also one of two funds in the table to post first-quartile returns in six of the 10 years.
Artemis Monthly Distribution topped the entire sector in 2025, gaining 23.1%, more than double the sector average. It was also the only fund of the 10 in the table to achieve a first-quartile return that year. In 2022, it also delivered one of the strongest downside outcomes, limiting losses to 5.6%.
The £1.9bn strategy is run by Jacob de Tusch-Lec, James Davidson, David Ennett and Jack Holmes. De Tusch-Lec is the only member of the management team to have been managing the strategy prior to 2021 – having overseen the fund since 2012.
The portfolio blends global equities and bonds using a bottom-up and valuation-aware approach. Its equity portfolio includes names such as Samsung Electronics, Pfizer and Cisco Systems, while the bond allocation currently stands at 31.1% in corporate bonds and 11.2% in government bonds.
Next, the £3.3bn Royal London Sustainable Diversified Trust fund posted the second-best 10-year return in the sector, gaining 110.1% over the assessed period. It was also the only other fund in the table alongside Artemis Monthly Distribution to post a first-quartile return in six of the 10 years.
The strategy is managed by FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Mike Fox, alongside George Crowdy, Sebastian Beguelin and Daphne Tsang. It aims to deliver capital growth over three to five years while investing in companies and issuers that contribute positively to sustainability themes such as clean, healthy, safe and inclusive living.
As of 31 March 2026, the portfolio held 59.3% in equities, 38.3% in fixed income and 2.4% in cash, with top equity holdings including Tesco, HSBC and Broadcom.
The Royal London strategy has demonstrated strong performance in several years. It topped the table in 2020, gaining 13.4%, and again in 2019, when it delivered 22.2% – the best return in the sector. It also provided the strongest downside protection in the table in 2018, limiting losses to 2.5%.
Finally, Barclays Global Markets Balanced rounds out the top three in the sector for 10-year return, gaining 97.6%. The £338.9m strategy was launched in 2010 and has been managed by Finlay Macdonald since 2021.
Notably, the fund posted a 10.3% gain in 2024, placing it in the top 10 of the whole sector during that year.
Barclays Global Markets Balanced invests at least 70% of assets in passively managed vehicles covering equities, fixed income, money market instruments and derivatives. It is labelled as ‘risk profile 3’ in the suite of funds, meaning its equity exposure falls between 30% to 60%. The remaining 30% of the fund’s assets can be invested directly.
The overall approach targets global diversification and is unconstrained by region, sector or currency.
Performance of the funds vs sector, 2016-2025
Source: FE Analytics
When assessing these three funds on their performance year-to-date, Artemis Monthly Distribution leads the table with a 10.5% gain (as at 13 May 2026) – the fifth-best return in the sector – while Barclays Global Markets Balanced sits in the second quartile of the sector with a 4% gain.
In contrast, Royal London Sustainable Diversified Trust has had a tough start to 2026, slipping into the fourth quartile with a 0.6% return so far this year.
IA Mixed Investment 0.35% Shares sector
Some investors may prefer even lower-risk multi-asset strategies, turning to the IA Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares sector.
As shown in the table below, seven funds beat the sector average in at least eight of the 10 years.
Source: FE Analytics. Figures highlighted in red represent years in which a fund underperformed the IA Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares sector average.