Technology and health-related funds are the best-performing specialist funds as both areas saw increased interest following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to FE Analytics, BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers returned 58.32%, followed by ETF Securities (ETFS) S&P Biotech ETF (36.57%), BT Technology Retail (36.30%), Fiducian Technology (34.78%) and CFS Wholesale Global Technology & Communications (34.08%), over the year to 30 September, 2020.
The ETFS biotech fund had 124 holdings with a focus on biotechnology companies involved in the research and development of drugs and treatments that used complex biological materials in their development.
The best-performing healthcare fund was Platinum International Health Care which returned 28.64%.
The managed fund invested in healthcare companies that ranged from research to consumer direct services, like hospitals or health insurance, from around the world.
The average return in the specialist sector, within the Australian Core Strategies universe, was 11.61%.
The worst-performing specialist funds were those that focused on financials: the BetaShares Global Banks ETF Currency Hedged lost 30.32, followed by VanEck Australian Banks (-30.09%), BetaShares Australian Financials Sector ETF (-28.90%) and SSgA SPDR S&PASX 200 Financials EX A REIT (-28.63%).
ETFS had launched its FANG+ ETF fund earlier in the year and it returned 54.05% in the last six months which was the best six-month return in the sector.
The ETFS FANG+ ETF only held 10 stocks with Twitter (10.74%) and Tesla (9.13%) being its highest and lowest holding exposures.
The rest of its full holdings were namesake funds Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google; graphics unit producer NVIDIA; Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba; and artificial intelligence and internet company Baidu.
Best-performing specialist funds over the year to 30 September 2020
