Top Performing Mutual Funds in Hong Kong and Singapore

During the period, Schroder ISF Global Energy took the top spot for mutual fund performance in the Hong Kong market. The fund, which comes with a Negative Morningstar Quantitative Rating, scored a 45.0% return in almost one year. Longer-term, the oil-heavy strategy did not fare well, as the category posted a flat return in three years. The same holds true for a similar strategy that becomes this year’s runner-up, Franklin Natural Resources A(acc)EUR, which returned 42.9% this year versus a weaker annualized 4.8% return over the past three years. BGF World Energy A2 ranks the seventh with a 38.4% return, or 3.9% on a 3-year basis.

Other top performers were single-market equity funds, including Manulife GF Taiwan Equity AA, CHNAMC New Horizon CHN A shr A USD Acc, and JPMorgan India Smaller Companies USD.

Greater China equity funds took six spots out of the 10 worst performers of 2021. Despite the retreat, the weak performing China funds retained their positive returns for a longer horizon, with all of their 3-year annualized total return staying in the positive terrain. There are also two Brazil equity funds that sit at the bottom of the performance table. They are: HSBC GIF Brazil Equity AC and JPM Brazil Equity A (acc) USD.

Largest Group of Funds

In fact, the largest category of funds available in Hong Kong, Greater China equity, ended the year with a 10.6% loss. But the group of 156 funds posted varied results.

* The category is represented by one fund, HSBC Jintrust Large Cap Equity. The product is offered to Hong Kong investors through the Mainland-Hong Kong Mutual Recognition of Funds arrangement.

In the Taiwan market, companies in the electronics industry continue to ride on the shortage story. Some chip designers and foundries saw another year of robust performance – the island’s heaviest weight, wide-moat Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330) came with a 17% gain. The overall strength in the Taiwan market buoyed the performance of the large-cap funds, with all five funds distributed in Hong Kong scoring a positive return. The top-performing individual fund was Manulife GF Taiwan Equity. The fund, with a MQR of Silver, gave out an impressive year to date gain of 42.1% and an annualized return of 33.0% over the last three years.

In the Hong Kong/China universe, the onshore A-shares funds held up relatively well. The average return of the 25 products was 0.27%, outperforming the broad category’s 10% loss. The sector-specific regulatory revamp was said to be one of the reasons that dragged Chinese equities, while most of the affected names, such as e-commerce platforms and tutoring centers, were listed outside of the mainland Chinese bourses. On the contrary, the A-shares index was greatly helped by the 7% exposure in basic materials and the 11% in industrials.

Note: Fund returns are calculated based on base currencies. Data as of December 23, 2021.