Roger Aitken interprets the January data

The £6.92m Guinness Alternative Energy C fund continued its top ranking amongst UK Registered funds over the past year to 30 November 2013 with a cumulative +92.68% performance. This nevertheless contrasted with the fund’s weak past three- and five-year performances at -8.87%/137th rank and -2.82%/124th rank, respectively.
Sarasin Sustainable Equity USA P US$ fund matched its runners up spot for the previous period to 31 October 2013 with +43.68% this time versus +39.84%/17th rank over three years. The £65.35m Premier Ethical A Inc. fund came fifth top with a +35.40% performance over the past twelve months, +62.15%/3rd rank for the past three years and a robust +118.22%/12th rank over past five. SUNARES bottom ranked in the sector with a woeful -39.08% return over the last 12 months (-57.99% over past three years).

Among US Mutual funds, Firsthand Alternative Energy fund outpaced the pack again over the past one year with a +111.40% performance, followed by the $27.87m Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy fund with an improving +85.56% (though negative over three and five years) and the $294.93m Eventide Gilead N fund in third with +52.35% versus a stellar +229.09%/1st rank return over five years. The sector’s bottom five funds were bunched tightly: GuideStone Funds Extended-Dur Bond GS2 fund at -5.51% to GuideStone Funds Inflation Protected Bond GS4 at -7.84% on a past one-year view. For the past three years this sector posted the best peer group cumulative return at +39.49%.

LSF Asian Solar & Wind A1 fund took the yellow jersey in the European Funds sector over the past year on an improving +196.78% performance, but compared less favourably to its -17.00%/990th rank over a past three-year horizon. MAP Clean Technology Fund I came in the runner’s up spot over the past year on an improving +146.13% display, followed by Guinness Alternative Energy A fund with +89.08% (-6.96%/973rd rank over the past three years). SUNARES bottom ranked here with a past one-year performance of -40.53% and -57.75% for the past three years.

The UK Individual Pensions sector displayed the best peer group average over a one-year period with +27.37%. Top ranked fund for this sector over the past 12 months was FL/Premier Ethical EP Pension fund with a +35.60% performance over the past year and +63.41%/8th rank over past three, followed in second place by Skandia/Premier Ethical Plan fund at +35.40% on one year versus its +57.99%/17th rank over three years.