This year has proved to be a mixed experience for active equity funds, especially those with a global remit. Most markets are up, and it has seemed almost difficult not to produce good returns on an absolute basis. But the MSCI World index, led as it is by the US and big tech, has once again proved tough to beat.
This has already caused some discussion when it comes to popular names such as Fundsmith Equity (GB00B4Q5X527), but it's also worth asking how global funds with a different mindset are holding up. Global income has long proved popular as a source of dividends outside the UK, and such funds can also prove defensive when share prices run into trouble.
If we look at the major global income funds, unsurprisingly few have managed to outpace the MSCI World index. One exception here is Artemis Global Income (GB00B5N99561), which has returned nearly 30 per cent in the first 11 months of this year. The fund has tended to follow a value investment style and look beyond some of the usual constituents of the global index: North America does account for a third of the portfolio but the big US stocks are notably absent. The fund has chunky allocations to Europe and emerging markets, while on a sector basis it has a big preference for financials and industrials. It has yielded 3.1 per cent over the past 12 months.