What’s Hot? Property Hot, China Not [Fund Edition]

What’s Hot

• Interestingly, whereas last month was dominated by gold funds, only one of these is still hot in the last month.  This feeds into the point we made last month, that perhaps gold had peaked too soon, having been fuelled by the banking crises.
• Three of this month’s What’s Hot spaces are taken by property funds. Whilst the commercial property market is taking a hit across the US, UK and Europe, the shares of property companies have had a bounce in April…
• …Do bear in mind that this sector (Property Other) is down 25% from its peak in December 2021, so what we are seeing here is a relatively small bounce within a somewhat larger downtrend.  The developing newsflow is poor on the outlook.
• The healthcare and biotech funds tend to trend with the technology sector, and are also heavily US-biased – all have enjoyed some recent strength.  This is a sub-sector for us to report back on in the coming weeks.
• The final feature is the three European funds. The Omnis, Fidelity and Scottish Widows funds all share 9 of their top 10 holdings, so it’s no surprise to see them stick together in the top 10.  Very much Growth-style funds.

What’s Not

• This month sees China as a consistent feature at the back of the pack. But don’t rule out China funds based on this, as this is most likely profit-taking after the very strong bounce from the Autumn…
• We’ve written a lot about China recently, if you haven’t read our blog from January on unlocking the potential here, then this is a great chance to do so – we warned back then that “the road through the Covid-unlock will be bumpy and bloody, and we must be wary of unexpected reversals between now and the Spring.”
• The newsflow is positive on the outlook for China, and Asia more generally.

What’s Hot

What’s Not