Moneyspider in the News

Choosing right sector is key ISA investing

The Herald 

Picking winners with your ISA is more about finding the right sectors than anything else, according to new research. 

The highest returning equity fund in the worst performing major geographical region has not been able to match the performance of the very worst fund in the best performing sector for four of the past five years, according to statistics group Lipper. 

More detailed research by online fund performance analyst Moneyspider.com of ISA performance over the last 12 months shows some of the UK's biggest and most popular funds have been hit far worse. 

In the equity income sector, for instance, which is popular with older investors, HSBC's massive fund suffered a 12.5% fall, those of leading investment houses Gartmore, Morgan Stanley and AXA all suffered steep losses, and two New Star funds both lost around 20%. Invesco Perpetual High Income fund, however, lost only 6% and Standard Life's high return fund 8.6%. 

Investors need to need to be especially vigilant at this difficult time in the markets,' said Moneyspider.com's Tony Ahearne. 'Any fool can make money in the good times. But here we are concerned with the fund managers who have that instinct for survival and have helped to steer their investors through very choppy waters.' 

The heavily invested UK All Companies sector has also been badly mauled in the downturn of the past six months, but the best performer, Merrill Lynch's UK Dynamic fund, has lost just 0.56% over the last 12 months. 

'But if you happen to be in the Rathbone Special Situations fund - very popular with the 'Joe Average' investor - you are looking at losses of 25% over the last year,' said Ahearne. New Star Special Opportunities was down 22%.