Out of the 30 consistently worst performing unit trusts and Oeics identified in Tilney Bestinvest’s report, M&G manages 66% of the total dog fund assets, which add up to £11.9bn ($15.7bn, €14.1bn).
M&G has been the underperforming top dog in AUM terms consecutively since July 2014 with the lacklustre performance of its former flagship £3.4bn M&G Recovery fund and newly formed £5.48bn M&G Global Dividend fund dragging it down.
Aberdeen, which recently reported £8.9bn in net outflows across its asset classes, remained in the dog house with six funds making the list, though this is down from the 11 funds that made the cut in the last edition.
Tilney Bestinvest also pointed out that the St. James’s Place Far East Fund previously managed by Aberdeen also earned a spot in the top 30 consistent worst performers. SJP announced this week it had replaced Aberdeen as fund manager with First State Stewart Asia.
Newcomers Invesco Perpetual and Columbia Threadneedle were dog collared for the first time, the report said.
UK equities and Europe
On the flip side, the UK Equities and Europe sectors were notable for having very few badly behaving funds. Only two UK Equities funds were flagged up and only one out of 77 funds in Europe was named and shamed.
Japan, Asia and Emerging Markets sectors were also largely in the clear.
“Spot the Dog” emphasises the ever shifting landscape of the investment management industry in which fame is fleeting, said Jason Hollands, managing director of Tilney Bestinvest.
“The financial services industry has an unfortunate habit of overpromising and under-delivering. When all is going well, funds are heavily promoted and managers are feted like City rock stars. Yet some of these stars may have simply got lucky and turnout to be shooting stars that crash out of orbit. It’s a simple fact that many funds fail to beat their benchmarks over the long run, after all the fees have been taken – investors need to consider their fund managers carefully.
“Spot the Dog’s message is simple: no matter how thoroughly you research your choices ahead of investing, the fate of funds and their managers can change over time. Many fail to deliver and you need to monitor your investments closely.”
