The £1.9m Premier portfolio is the only one of the three to remain in the top quartile for its entire history.
It has returned 27.45 per cent over one year, compared with a sector average of 10.75 per cent.
The AXA and Eden vehicles have made 24.54 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively over the period.
Performance of funds vs sector over 1-yr
Source: FE Analytics
CF Eden UK Select Opportunities
The £30.4m Eden fund, headed up by FE Alpha Manager Leigh Himsworth, is overweight telecommunications, media and technology stocks, holding 21.2 per cent in the sector.
It is also tipped towards financials, which have rallied strongly in the latter part of this year.
Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, says the outperformance of the Eden and AXA funds has not gone unnoticed by his firm.
"The Eden fund we’ve had a gentle look at," he commented. "I’ve known Leigh Himsworth since his Royal London days and he’s working on rebuilding his franchise."
"The early numbers have been good and he’s had a very strong year. He certainly will have a mid cap bias. It is a fund which is on our radar and at least it’s got a little bit of critical mass now and it’s heading in the right direction."
"I think Eden’s done a very good job," he added.
AXA Framlington UK Mid Cap
The £12.2m AXA portfolio, managed by Chris St John and FE Alpha Manager Nigel Thomas, holds its highest weighting in industrials, with 34.96 per cent allocated to stocks such as Ashtead Group and plastic packaging producer RPC Group.
While McDermott prefers funds with a longer track record in the mid cap space, he appreciates that AXA UK Mid Cap has started strongly.
"Obviously Nigel is an extremely experienced manager and we’ve had his bigger UK Select Opportunities fund on our buy-list for years and years," he said.
"It’s a competitive space for mid cap assets. They’ve done a very good job and all you can do is outperform."
Premier ConBrio Sanford Deland UK Buffettology
The little-known Premier portfolio, managed by Keith Ashworth-Lord, favours services and industrials, holding nearly 40 per cent of its assets in these two sectors.
Games retailer Games Workshop Group, financial services provider Liontrust Asset Management and commercial flooring manufacturer James Halstead are among its top-10 holdings.
McDermott says the performance figures have been strong on the Premier fund, but adds he would not buy it unless he becomes more familiar with its management style.
"I would certainly want to know the manager well before backing a fund nobody’s ever heard of," he said.
Ashworth-Lord has more than doubled the returns of his peer group composite over his brief track record, returning 28.26 per cent to investors, compared with an average of 11.18 per cent from his rivals, according to FE Analytics.
Charges and minimum investments
The Premier fund has a minimum investment of £500 and a total expense ratio (TER) of 7.8 per cent while the Eden fund has a minimum investment of £1,000 and a TER of 1.96 per cent.
The AXA vehicle has a minimum investment of £1,000 and an annual management charge of 1.5 per cent.