Industry experts have already looked at six of your choices in detail, but given the huge demand, we’ve asked the FE Research team and Numis' Charles Cade to analyse a few more.
Here are five more choices under the spotlight:
Newton Asian Income
"Jenny M" says she is a big fan of First State’s emerging markets team, but for the coming year is tipping the younger and less established Newton Asian Income fund.
FE Research analyst Amandine Thierree says the team rates the Newton Asian Income fund very highly, and includes it in the FE Select 100. However, she points out that the fund has a high exposure to Australia, which may put off some investors.
She also reminds investors it is likely to underperform in market rallies, but will do much better in tough times.
"The manager has a bias towards less economically sensitive companies and also likes property, because rents provide a consistent income stream," she said.
"A large proportion of the fund is invested in Australia, with Pidcock drawing comfort from the country’s stable political system and robust business culture."
"The way the fund sailed through the turbulence of 2011, massively outperforming both its sector and benchmark, suggests it will still do well if markets face further trouble in the future."
Performance of fund since launch vs sector
Source: FE Analytics
According to FE data, Newton Asian Income is a top-quartile performer in its IMA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector over one, three and five years, and since its launch in November 2005. It has also been significantly less volatile and has a far lower max drawdown.
The fund has a total expense ratio (TER) of 1.66 per cent and requires a minimum investment of £1,000.
It was recently tipped by Hargreaves Lansdown’s Richard Troue to be one of the best-selling funds of this year’s ISA season.
Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities
"Jenny M" is also considering buying FE Alpha Manager Elena Shaftan’s Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities fund – a portfolio that struggled badly in 2011 and parts of 2012.
While Rob Gleeson (pictured), head of FE Research, thinks Shaftan is a very capable stockpicker, this would not be his choice this year.
"I think for this fund it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "I think the team has good stockpicking ability, but I think it will be a long time before emerging Europe will be a good place to be."Charles Younes, analyst at FE Research, added: "The fund is pretty much only invested in Russia and Turkey, which means that it is limited in diversifying its risk."
Jupiter Emerging European Opps has returned 322.6 per cent since its launch in September 2002, falling short of its MSCI EM Europe 10/40 benchmark by around 100 percentage points.
It is down 3.66 per cent over three years, although its record in the last 12 months is far stronger – up 15.28 per cent, according to our data.
Shaftan’s fund requires a minimum investment of £500 and has a TER of 2.01 per cent.
Schroder Asian Income Maximiser
"Cordwainer" is another fan of the Asian income story, but is keen to get away from heavily publicised offerings such as the Newton Asian Income fund.
Cordwainer points to Schroder Asian Income Maximiser, headed up by Thomas See and Richard Sennitt, as a smaller, more nimble alternative.
Gleeson likes the Asian income concept, and likes the fact that this fund uses call options to maximise its yield. In a recent FE Trustnet article, he said that Fidelity Enhanced Income– a portfolio that also uses call options – was his favourite fund of 2012.
Schroder Asian Income Maximiser has delivered 35.54 per cent since its launch in June 2010, compared with 21.46 per cent from its sector and 25.61 per cent from its MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan benchmark.
The fund has fallen well short of its rival Newton Asian Income, which has delivered 53.41 per cent in this time.
However, it is currently yielding 6.85 per cent – the highest in the IMA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector.
See and Sennitt’s portfolio requires a minimum investment of £1,000 and has a TER of 1.71 per cent.
Aberdeen New Thai IT
"Tiny T" is tipping the Aberdeen New Thai trust to shine next year. He points to its excellent track record and wide discount as good reasons to back it.
According to FE data, it is among the 10 best-performing investment trusts in the entire AIC universe over one, there, five and 10 years.
In the last decade, it is up 873.21 per cent.
Performance of trust vs benchmark over 10-yrs
| Name | 1yr returns (%) | 3yr returns (%) | 5yr returns (%) | 10yr returns (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen New Thai IT | 60.71 | 157.66 | 204.07 | 873.21 |
| Thailand Bangkok | 37.02 | 110.71 | 146.68 | 439.99 |
Source: FE Analytics
In spite of this stellar record, the trust is on a discount of around 13 per cent; however, Charles Cade, analyst at Numis, does not think investors should count on this closing by too much in 2013.
"Investors don’t tend to have an allocation to Thailand, so you’re probably not going to see a sudden demand for a trust like this," Cade explained.
"I think you’d have to see a significant bull market in emerging markets for this to come down."
Cade rates the Aberdeen team highly, but points out that in spite of the trust's stellar performance, it is still a very risky area and relies heavily on the performance of the Thai market in general.
Aberdeen New Thai IT has an ongoing charges figure of 1.55 per cent.
Aberdeen All Asia IT
"Dlp6666" has also gone for an investment trust, this time the Aberdeen All Asia IT, because of the strength of emerging Asia and low value of the Japanese market.
While Cade is an admirer of the Aberdeen team, he thinks investors would be better off holding a separate emerging Asia and Japan trust.
"We tend to prefer direct exposure to Asia Pacific, and direct exposure to Japan," he said.
"Yes, there are a number of Japanese exporters benefitting from demand in [emerging] Asia, but the majority have a very different dynamic."
"With the great deal of strength in the Aberdeen emerging markets and Asian smaller companies teams, I’d go for a more specific trust, and for the Japanese exposure go for something like the Baillie Gifford Japan trust."
The Aberdeen All Asia IT currently has 22.1 per cent in Japan, 3.3 per cent in the UK and the rest in Asia Pacific.
The Aberdeen team has returned 169.55 per cent since its launch in May 2004, beating its MSCI AC Asia Pacific benchmark by around 70 percentage points.
The trust has an ongoing charges figure of 1.34 per cent, but this is exclusive of its performance fee.
It is currently trading on a 5.4 per cent discount according to the AIC, and is 10 per cent geared.