Moneyspider in the News

Biggest at the bottom - ratings highlight poorly performing funds

Professional Adviser

Some of the biggest and best known fund groups are running some of the worst performing funds, according to new ratings issued by Moneyspider.com and Financial Express.

Scottish Widows, Standard Life, Henderson Global Investors, Legal & General, Invesco Perpetual, F&C and Fidelity all have funds rated D and E on Moneyspider.com's system, which rates funds' performance from A to E, based on one-, three- and five- year performances.

Scottish Widows has the dubious distinction of having the largest number (20 out of a total of 38) of funds with D and E ratings. Standard Life Investments has 40pc of its funds in the lowest ratings, while Legal & General has nearly a third of its funds relegated to the bottom rungs. Of the 32 UK retail funds offered by Fidelity Investments, a quarter carry D and E ratings.

Moneyspider.com's Tony Ahearne said: "Investors are losing money by staying in underperforming funds, but by viewing their ISAs, PEPs and unit trusts on moneyspider.com investors can benefit from an instant analysis, updated daily, which will show the rubbish performers compared with those often small and little known fund managers who make money."

"Investors are being short-changed by funds promoted by many of the largest fund management houses that spend heavily on marketing but struggle to deliver the goods with a number of their funds."

Ahearne urged investors and advisers to scour the market more carefully, pointing out that there are well over 2,000 funds available, with many small and little known providers such as Rathbone, First State, St James's Place and Artemis turning in consistent A and B ratings.

"Despite recent falls in world stock markets as a result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and credit crunch, longer-term investment planning is a solid and proven strategy for inflation beating returns," he said.

"But investors are far too often left in the dark by their fund managers. With moneyspider.com they will know exactly how each of the funds portfolio is performing."