Top-10 best-performing trusts of 2012
| Name | 2012 returns (%) | IT Sector |
|---|---|---|
| Acorn Income | 58.82 | UK High Income |
| Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust | 53.75 | Asia Pacific ex Japan |
| The Biotech Growth Trust | 52.71 | Biotech & Healthcare |
| Jupiter European Opportunities | 52.14 | Europe |
| Aberdeen New Thai IT | 49.35 | Country Specialist Asia Pacific |
| Dunedin Smaller Companies IT | 48.98 | UK Smaller Companies |
| Henderson Smaller Companies | 46.51 | UK Smaller Companies |
| Aberdeen Smaller Companies High Income | 46.45 | UK High Income |
| TR Property Investment Trust | 45.22 | IT Property Securities |
| Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies | 42.93 | Asia Pacific ex Japan |
Source: FE Analytics
The study did not include VCTs, or trusts in the IT Not Yet Assigned or IT Unclassified sectors.
John McClure’s Acorn Income trust is number-one overall, with returns of 58.82 per cent. The small cap trust, which resides in the IT UK High Income sector, is currently yielding 5.24 per cent. Henderson Smaller Companies and Dunedin Smaller Companies also made it into the top-10.
The small cap market was not the only one to do well, however; Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies came in second with 53.75 per cent, and there was also an appearance in the top-10 for the Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies trust.
Performance of trust vs sector in 2012
Source: FE Analytics
It was a very good year for IT Private Equity trusts as well, with four – SVG Capital, Electra Private Equity, Dunedin Enterprise and Pantheon International Participations – making it into the top-20. All of these delivered more than 35 per cent to investors.
Perhaps the surprise package this year has been IT Europe, given all the negative hype surrounding the eurozone. According to our data, the average trust in the sector has delivered 27 per cent in 2012 – a figure beaten only by IT Property Securities and IT Biotech & Healthcare, which each only have a handful of members.
"Despite the tough economic environment in 2012, there has been strong performance in a wide variety of investment companies and sectors, illustrating why a balanced portfolio is important," commented Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
"Top-performing sectors range from the defensive Biotechnology & Healthcare, to the growth-oriented smaller companies sectors. With all the eurozone worries so widely reported, it’s interesting to see that Europe is one of the top-performing sectors."
The other end of the performance scale is dominated by natural resources and direct property trusts, which have suffered losses of more than 30 per cent.
Among the highest profile of these are the Geiger Counter and Baker Steel Resources trusts, which are down 39.22 and 75 per cent respectively this year.
However, in general it has been a successful year for trusts, with all but 10 IT sectors delivering positive returns.
According to FE data, of the 392 trusts in the AIC Investment Companies universe, only 86 – or 22 per cent – have lost money this year. This is a massive improvement on 2011, when more than two-thirds failed to break even.
The average investment trust has returned 10.5 per cent so far this year.
In the income stakes, niche property trusts such as IRP Property Investments top the one-year historic yield table. Ian McBryde's portfolio is currently yielding more than 11 per cent.
In the equity universe, the British & American IT comes out on top with a yield of 9.74 per cent. Other notable performers include Invesco Leveraged High Yield and the Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust, which are both yielding more than 7.5 per cent.