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Discount
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| Fund | Current | Average | Z Score |
1-yr return |
| UK commercial property trust |
13.2 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 11.5 |
| Schroder UK Growth |
-2.9 | -5.7 | 3.4 | 25.4 |
| Henderson Far East Income |
7.3 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 18.9 |
| VietNam Holding |
-16.1 | -27.4 | 3.3 | 43.2 |
| Vietnam Property |
-21.5 | -29.1 | 3.2 | -4.0 |
| JP Morgan Claverhouse |
-4.5 | -6.5 | 3.2 | 19.1 |
| F&C Commercial Property Trust |
13.0 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 22.9 |
| International Public Partnership |
6.3 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 7.1 |
| INVESCO Asia |
-5.7 | -8.3 | 2.8 | 26.6 |
| Artemis Alpha Trust |
-0.9 | -6.1 | 2.7 | 30.5 |
| London & Stamford Property |
11.4 | 1.4 | 2.7 | |
| Eclectic Inv. Trust |
-11.0 | -24.5 | 2.6 | 5.9 |
| ING UK Real Estate Income Trust |
-9.8 | -17.9 | 2.6 | 9.2 |
| Templeton Emerging Markets |
-2.9 | -4.9 | 2.6 | 32.0 |
| Oakley Capital Investments |
-10.9 | -15.5 | 2.5 | 34.5 |
Source: Financial Express Analytics and Numis Investment Companies
The vehicles were measured by their Z-score, a ratio which calculates a trust's discount relative to its average discount over a certain period of time. A third of the 15 most expensive funds involved in the study over the last three months invest in property – a popular asset class this year.
But Financial Express data shows that, despite their relative expense, they are among the worst performers over a one year period. Serial underperformer Vietnam Property investment trust has lost the most for investors, with a negative return of 4 per cent. Domiciled in the Cayman Islands, the trust keeps a hefty 42 per cent weighting in the money market, 32 per cent in property shares, and 20 per cent in direct property.
ING UK Real Estate is another disappointing performer compared to others on the list. It returned 9 per cent over one year, making it the fourth worst performing investment trust in the sample. Within its own IT Property Direct UK sector, however, its performance is just above average – the sector returned 7 per cent over the year.
Slightly ahead of ING UK Real Estate is the UK Commercial property trust, with 11.5 per cent returns over the year.
"Looking at the whole investment trust sector, anything which gives a high yield is expensive on a discount basis," Charles Stanley's investment trust analyst Stephen Peters said.
He added: "In this list there is a theme of income, and a theme of the unloved sectors bouncing back."
At the other end of the scale, trusts concentrating on growth, including JPMorgan European Growth and Atlantis Japan Growth, were among the cheapest looking vehicles. However, investors should note that a Z-Score only takes into account a trust’s historical discount, and does not look at whether an investment company is a good buy because of its holdings.
"Those trusts with high Z-scores are generally solid and well managed, which is why investors are willing to pay for them," Peters said.