Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund has been voted top ethical fund in the AJ Bell investment fund and trust awards.
The winners were voted for by users of the investment platform, both customers and financial advisers.
Ryan Hughes, head of fund selection at AJ Bell, said: “The Kames Ethical Managed fund is a strong choice for those investors who deem ethical criteria as an important part of their investment approach. The fund is broadly 50/50 equities and fixed interest with the ability to flex up to 10 per cent each side, giving a well-diversified portfolio.
“The fixed interest team at Kames remains strong despite recent departures while Audrey Ryan on the equity element is a safe pair of hands. For investors looking for a well managed, instant portfolio of equities and bonds with a strong ethical screen, this fund ticks a lot of boxes.”
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The AJ Bell FIT awards cover 15 categories, including the ethical category.
An expert panel* was enlisted to put forward their nominations in each category. The panel could nominate any investment fund (including OEICs, Unit Trusts, Investment Trusts and Exchange Traded Funds). The panel was asked to look beyond simply investment performance, but also consider how well the fund/trust delivers what it sets out to achieve and how well positioned it is for the future.
Financial advisers and retail customers that use AJ Bell’s Investcentre and Youinvest platforms were then invited to vote for their winner during August 2017.
The most popular individual fund was the Fundsmith Equity fund, which won the Global Equity category. First State Investments** was the only fund group to win more than one award.
The winning funds are all strong performers in their category (see the full list below). A £15,000 investment, split equally across the 15 winners would have more than doubled in value to £31,628 over the past five years.
| CATEGORIES | WINNERS | 3 year annualised
return |
5 year annualised
return |
Value of £1,000 invested 5 years ago |
| UK Equity | Liontrust Special Situations Fund | 12.55% | 13.30% | £1,867 |
| European Equity | Jupiter European Fund | 19.51% | 18.11% | £2,298 |
| North American Equity | Schroder US Mid Cap Fund | 19.34% | 19.21% | £2,407 |
| Asian Equity | Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund | 12.02% | 12.12% | £1,772 |
| Japan Equity | Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon PLC | 32.62% | 31.85% | £3,984 |
| Emerging Markets Equity | JP Morgan Emerging Markets | 14.77% | 11.17% | £1,698 |
| Global Equity | Fundsmith Equity Fund | 25.20% | 22.23% | £2,782 |
| UK Smaller Companies | Standard Life UK Smaller Companies Trust PLC | 17.69% | 17.60% | £2,249 |
| Commodities/ Resources | BlackRock Gold and General Fund | 8.51% | -3.37% | £843 |
| Technology/ Biotech | Polar Capital Global Technology Fund | 28.27% | 23.52% | £2,875 |
| Property | F&C Commercial Property Trust | 10.62% | 12.95% | £1,838 |
| Bonds | M&G Emerging Markets Bond Fund | 14.04% | 9.78% | £1,595 |
| Income | City of London Investment Trust PLC | 8.33% | 11.42% | £1,717 |
| Ethical | Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund | 6.15% | 9.09% | £1,545 |
| Specialist | First State Global Listed Infrastructure Fund | 17.79% | 16.62% | £2,158 |
| Total return on £15,000 split equally across all funds | £31,628 | |||
