Not only does it top the table for total returns over 10 years – delivering 298.87 per cent – but its returns in the five years before and after September 2007 are the most consistent; the fund is one of only six to have achieved top-quartile performance in both periods.
In the five years to 21 September 2007 the fund was the fourth-best performer in the sector, with returns of 184.26 per cent, whereas in the five years following that date it was the second best, returning 40.32 per cent.
Performance of fund vs sector and index over 10-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
FE Alpha Manager Alister Hibbert’s (pictured) performance in the difficult markets since the financial crash in 2008 is notable.
Our data shows that Hibbert, who has also run European funds for Scottish Widows and Invesco Perpetual, has outperformed his peer group in two out of two falling markets over the past eight years, and four out of six rising ones. The top-ranked fund in each of the periods failed to make it into the top quartile in the other, highlighting the difficulty of outperforming in both bull and bear markets.
Top-quartile performers over two five-year periods
| Name | Returns (%) 21/09/02 to 21/09/07 |
Rank | Returns (%) 21/09/2007 to 21/09/2012 |
Rank |
| Jupiter - European Special Situations | 190.8 | 3 | 7.88 | 13 |
| BlackRock - European Dynamic | 184.26 | 4 | 40.32 | 2 |
| Henderson - European Growth | 180.45 | 5 | 8.72 | 12 |
| JOHCM - Continental European | 178.45 | 7 | 5.76 | 18 |
| AXA - Framlington European | 153.87 | 14 | 3.53 | 22 |
| Jupiter - European | 153.58 | 15 | 33.31 | 3 |
Source: FE Analytics
Jupiter Asset management has two entrants in the list: Jupiter European Special Situations and Jupiter European, both of which have five FE crowns.
FE Alpha Manager Alexander Darwall’s Jupiter European is the largest fund on the list, at £1.6bn, and the second-best performer over the 10-year period, returning 238.03 per cent to investors.
Jupiter European Special Situations, run by FE Alpha Manager Cedric de Fonclare, is the sector’s third-best performer, gaining 213.7 per cent over the past decade.
Jupiter European has made 33.31 per cent in the difficult five years since September 2007, while Jupiter European Special Situations has made just 7.88 per cent.
The Jupiter funds are also notable for having the lowest annualised volatility of those on the list, being the only ones to score less than 18 per cent.
Mark Hargraves’ £57.7m AXA Framlington European – by far the smallest on the list – is the most surprising entrant.
It is the 12th-best performer over 10 years, returning 162.84 per cent to investors. The portfolio recently made it into FE Trustnet’s "Top funds you’ve never heard of" series.