LONDON (Alliance News) - Activist hedge fund Crystal Amber Fund Ltd was the star performer amongst London-listed investment funds in August, helped by its holding in vehicle rental group Northgate PLC, according to QuotedData.
QuotedData noted Crystal Amber wrote to Northgate in July calling for a strategic review at the company, including a sale of all or part of the business. This was well-received by other investores, and Crystal Amber shares rose 22% in the month.
Also performing well were a slew of Asia-Pacific excluding Japan funds, reflecting a better outlook for China. This was in contrast to companies focused on Japanese markets, which dominated the list of the worst performers in the month by net asset value, QuotedData noted.
UK-focused funds including Industrial Multi Property Trust PLC, Independent Investment Trust PLC and Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC all bounced back in August, having fallen in July in the wake of the Brexit vote and concerns about the outlook for the UK economy.
The following were the best and worst performing London-listed investment companies in July, according to QuotedData:
| Best performing funds in price terms | % change |
| Crystal Amber | 21.8 |
| Macau Property Opportunities | 20.3 |
| Industrial Multi Property Trust | 20.0 |
| Alternative Liquidity | 19.3 |
| Riverstone Energy | 18.2 |
| Fair Oaks Income | 17.2 |
| Juridica Investments | 15.8 |
| UIL | 14.6 |
| Terra Catalyst | 14.6 |
| Reconstruction Capital | 14.3 |
| Worst performing funds in price terms | % change |
| European Real Estate | -15.9 |
| Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon | -9.3 |
| Infrastructure India | -6.4 |
| International Biotechnology | -6.1 |
| British & American | -5.9 |
| BlackRock Income Strategies | -5.9 |
| Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities | -5.6 |
| JPMorgan Brazil | -5.6 |
| Strategic Equity Capital | -5.1 |
| Dolphin Capital Investors | -4.5 |
| Best performing funds in NAV terms | % change |
| Crystal Amber | 15.1 |
| JPMorgan Chinese | 9.9 |
| Miton UK Microcap | 7.8 |
| JPMorgan Asian | 7.5 |
| Vietnam Holding | 7.4 |
| UIL | 7.2 |
| Henderson Smaller Companies | 7.0 |
| Qatar Investment Fund | 7.0 |
| Independent Investment Trust | 6.9 |
| Polar Capital Global Financials | 6.7 |
| Worst performing funds in NAV terms | % change |
| Fidelity Japanese Values | -8.2 |
| Golden Prospect Precious Metals | -7.2 |
| Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon | -7.0 |
| BlackRock World Mining Trust | -6.9 |
| JPMorgan Japanese | -6.4 |
| Electra Private Equity | -5.8 |
| JPMorgan Japan Smaller Companies | -5.7 |
| Prospect Japan | -5.4 |
| Atlantis Japan | -5.0 |
| Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities | -3.5 |
Source: QuotedData. Full details at www.quoteddata.com
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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