At first sight, it's hard to believe, but Philip Gibbs' Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund is one of the top-performing unit trusts over the past year. The £920m fund, which invests mainly in banks and financial stocks, is up 9% over one year against a 59% drop for the FTSE ASX Financial Index.
How has Gibbs done it? By switching from equities to cash in 2007. Concerned about high levels of household borrowing in America and Britain, the Cambridge history graduate sold out of the market. Equities accounted for just 15% of the fund throughout 2008, falling as low as 5% in September, says The Daily Telegraph. He also took positions in long-dated government bonds, and moved most of his investments outside the UK, avoiding the worst of the fall in sterling.
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Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund top ten holdings
| France (gov't of) 0% TB 25/10/38 | 8.1 |
| France (gov't of) 0% STRIP 25/04/35 | 6.9 |
| France (gov't of) 0% OAT 25/10/32 | 6.2 |
| DnB NOR ASA | 1.8 |
| Mnchener Rckversicherungs AG | 1.7 |
| Zurich Financial Services | 1.7 |
| Aviva | 1.6 |
| Paternoster | 1.2 |
| Jupiter Second Split Geared Growth | 0.8 |
| Franklin Resources Inc | 0.7 |
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