Neil Woodford’s demise as a celebrated fund manager has prompted many investors to diversify – but the problem is where to look for suitable investments.
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If you are making a single investment to spread across lots of different stocks, sectors and countries, then the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has put together a list of the top 20 funds that will do the job.
Investing like this lets you capture growth and income from a range of sources and spreads the risk.
Annabel Brodie-Smith, the AIC communications director, said: “With the news bringing more reasons to worry than to celebrate, many investors might take comfort from knowing their investments are spread across a wide range of different countries.
“The ability to spread your investment across a variety of companies, countries and sectors is one of the biggest benefits of collective investments, such as investment companies. Different countries will have varying economic and political environments as well as different strengths and weaknesses, so investing in a good spread of regions can make sense.
“It’s not surprising to see big, global investment companies top the list, investing in as many as 37 different countries. However, it’s interesting that some investment companies with strong sector specialisms, such as environmental or financials, are so diversified by country.”
Top 20 funds for spreading investment risk across countries
Rank | Name | AIC sector | Largest single country exposure | No of countries invested in |
1 | F&C | Global | 52% – USA | 37 |
2 | Witan | Global | 35% – UK | 36 |
3 | Genesis Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 25% – China | 32 |
4 | Aberdeen Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 24% – China | 26 |
5 | Utilico Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 26% – Brazil | 26 |
6 | Alliance Trust | Global | 47% – USA | 26 |
7 | Murray International | Global Equity Income | 14% – USA | 25 |
8 | Aberdeen Frontier Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 26% – Vietnam | 24 |
9 | Bankers | Global | 32% – USA | 24 |
10 | BlackRock Frontiers | Global Emerging Markets | 11% – Indonesia | 23 |
11 | Polar Capital Global Financials | Financials | 40% – USA | 23 |
12 | Caledonia | Flexible Investment | 40% – UK | 23 |
13 | Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income | Global Emerging Markets | 14% – Cayman Islands | 22 |
14 | JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Income | Global Emerging Markets | 21% – China | 20 |
15 | Templeton Emerging Markets | Global Emerging Markets | 24% – China | 20 |
16 | Henderson International Income | Global Equity Income | 29% – USA | 20 |
17 | Jupiter Green | Environmental | 30% – USA | 20 |
18 | Impax Environmental Markets | Environmental | 43% – USA | 20 |
19 | Herald | Global Smaller Companies | 51% – UK | 19 |
20 | Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus | Asia Pacific Smaller Companies | 14% – Thailand | 18 |
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