Roger Aitken, analyst, interprets the January data:

The £5.69m Guinness Alternative Energy C fund continued its top ranking amongst UK Registered funds over the past year to 31 December 2013 with a cumulative +67.62% performance. It nevertheless contrasted sharply with weak past three- and five-year performances at -18.59%/142nd and -18.71%/124th, respectively.

Sarasin Sustainable Equity USA P US$ fund retained its runners up spot from the previous period to 30 November 2013 with +43.55% against +34.10%/17th over three years. Kames Ethical Equity B Acc fund came third over one year (+37.37%), ranked fifth over three (+51.01%) and fourth over five years (+131.29%). The £68.32m Premier Ethical A Inc. fund moved up one spot to fourth from top over the past year with a marginally improved +36.57% performance against +57.61%/2nd over past three and an outstanding +110.33% over the past five years. SUNARES lagged the sector again with -36.42%/155th rank over the past year (-64.34% over three years).

For US Mutual funds, Firsthand Alternative Energy fund stole a march on its rivals again over the past one year with a +93.71% performance (-11.00%/199th over three years), followed by the $23.66m Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy fund with +61.54% (though negative over three and five years at -21.27% and -17.97%, respectively) and the $323.58m Eventide Gilead N fund in third with +52.93% (+81.13% over three years and +213.43%/4th over five).

The sector’s bottom five funds lay in negative territory on the past one-year view: GuideStone Funds Extended-Dur Bond GS2 fund at -5.10% to GuideStone Funds Inflation Protected Bond GS4 at -8.64%. But the sector displayed the best peer group cumulative return (+100.79%) over the past five years.

MAP Clean Technology Fund I top ranked among European Funds with +146.13% over the past year and shaded LSF Asian Solar & Wind A1 fund at +145.80% (-15.35%/994th over past three). The €8.16m Incometric Global Valor B fund ranked fifth over the past year with +49.39% and has performed well over the last three years recording +55.56%/9th rank. SUNARES takes the wooden spoon in the sector again with -38.01% (out of 1,115 funds) and -63.27% over one- and three-year periods, but was positive over five (+15.35%).

The UK Individual Pensions sector displayed the best peer group average over one-year and three-year periods with +27.37% and +38.43%, respectively. Top ranked fund here over the past 12 months was Sanlam/Kames Ethical Equity 8 Pension fund with +38.67% versus +55.98%/11th over the past three years.