Saltydog Investor looks at which funds have been performing well lately, with a certain type of US fund leading the way

The overall number of sectors making one-month gains fell during the third quarter of 2024.

In July, 26 out of the 34 sectors that we track went up, a pretty good start. However, in August the number dropped to 24, and in September it fell to 22.

October was even worse, with only 12 sectors ending the month ahead of where they were when it started.

The best-performing sector was Financials & Financial Innovation, up 5.1%, followed by Technology & Technology Innovation, North America, and North American Smaller Companies.

The biggest losses were in the European sectors, but the UK Gilt and UK equity sectors did not do much better.

Last month, we saw a significant improvement, with 26 sectors posting positive one-month returns.
 

 
The North American Smaller Companies sector led the way with a 12.0% gain. Then it was the Financials & Financial Innovation sector, up 9.0%, followed by Technology & Technology Innovation, and then North America.

The top four sectors in November were the same ones as in October, but in a slightly different order.

It is nice to see that the UK All Companies and UK Equity Income sectors have improved since October. Unfortunately, the UK Smaller Companies and the European sectors made further losses.
 

 
When the US and Technology sectors are at the top of our tables, the Baillie Gifford American fund normally performs well. It was the top fund in November, with a one-month return of nearly 15%.
 
h3 class=”text-subheading”>Saltydog’s top 10 funds in November 2024

 

Fund name Investment Association sector Monthly return
Baillie Gifford American North America 14.9
Schroder US Smaller Companies North American Smaller Companies 13.1
CT US Smaller Companies North American Smaller Companies 12.6
FTF Royce US Smaller Companies North American Smaller Companies 12.3
JPM Emerging Europe Equity Specialist 11.4
CT American Smaller Companies North American Smaller Companies 10.6
JPM US Small Cap Growth North American Smaller Companies 10.5
Fidelity American Special Situations North America 9.9
Schroder US Mid Cap North America 9.6
VT Argonaut Absolute Return Targeted Absolute Return 9.5

 

Data source: Morningstar. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Baillie Gifford American is an old favourite, but it can be very volatile. It was the best-performing fund in 2020, with a one-year return of 121%. However, it fell by -3% in 2021 and -51% in 2022.

One of our demonstration portfolios recently invested in this fund. After the first couple of days it had lost 3.7%, but a week later it was showing an overall gain of 3.2%. We had braced ourselves for a bumpy ride, and so far have not been disappointed.
 
For more information about Saltydog, or to take the two-month free trial, go to www.saltydoginvestor.com
 



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