We reveal which funds and companies have made and lost the most money in recent years.
Choosing investments is not easy. Pick the right one and you could end up reaching for the champagne after a triple-digit return.
But put all your money into assets that end up failing spectacularly then you may end up losing everything virtually overnight.
Here we look at the best- and worst-performing companies, investment funds and sectors over one, three and five years.
Of course, the usual caveats apply here: past performance is no guarantee of future returns and you must never invest what you can’t realistically afford to lose.
Ready to invest but want to shield your returns from the taxman? Open a Stocks & Shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown now
Companies
Let’s start with individual companies. You can access these businesses' shares via a stockbroker or one of the many investment platforms.
We focused on the performance of stocks in the blue-chip FTSE 100, which are the 100 biggest companies listed in the UK, in terms of their market capitalisations.
The difference in returns was remarkable.
An investment in Rolls Royce Holdings would have risen by a remarkable 330.35% over the past three years to September 5, 2024. The stock price has been driven by the company's impressive growth.
However, if you’d put your money into Spirax Group, which delivered disappointing results, the value of your investment would have fallen by more than 50% over the same period.
| FTSE 100: best and worst over one year | % return |
| Rolls Royce Holdings | 117.71% |
| Vistry Group | 67.90% |
| Darktrace | 57.21% |
| Intermediate Capital Group | 54.23% |
| 3i Group | 53.51% |
| Burberry Group | -71.57% |
| Entain | -46.48% |
| Prudential | -34.65% |
| Croda International | -27.93% |
| Spirax Group | -25.02% |
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, as of September 5, 2024.
| FTSE 100: best and worst over three years | % return |
| Rolls Royce Holdings | 330.35% |
| BAE Systems | 132.63% |
| Centrica | 130.75% |
| 3i Group | 130.70% |
| Beazley | 91.03% |
| Entain | -68.30% |
| Burberry Group | -67.06% |
| Prudential | -58.78% |
| Croda International | -57.16% |
| Spirax Group | -54.42% |
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, as of September 5, 2024.
| FTSE 100: best and worst over one year | % return |
| Frasers Group | 247.86% |
| 3i Group | 172.05% |
| Diploma | 164.37% |
| BAE Systems | 135.64% |
| Ashtead Group | 127.91% |
| Burberry Group | -71.98% |
| Vodafone Group | -51.08% |
| Prudential | -47.43% |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | -42.38% |
| Smith & Nephew | -41.13% |
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, as of September 5, 2024.
Investment sectors
In the next stage of our analysis, we team up with Morningstar Direct to highlight the best and worst-performing investment sectors over the past one, three and five years.
| Best and worst sectors over one year | % return |
| IA India/Indian Subcontinent | 29.14% |
| IA Technology and Technology Innovation | 21.61% |
| IA Financials and Financial Innovation | 21.40% |
| IA UK Smaller Companies | 18.68% |
| IA North America | 18.62% |
| IA China/Greater China | -12.34% |
| IA Latin America | -6.03% |
| IA UK Direct Property | 0.33% |
| IA Global Emerging Markets Bond - Local Currency | 1.60% |
| IA USD Government Bond | 2.15% |
Source: Morningstar Direct. Total Returns as of August-end 2024.
| Best and worst sectors over three years | % return |
| IA India/Indian Subcontinent | 11.46% |
| IA North America | 7.27% |
| IA Global Equity Income | 7.13% |
| IA UK Equity Income | 5.92% |
| IA Europe Including UK | 4.04% |
| IA China/Greater China | -14.66% |
| IA UK Index Linked Gilts | -14.50% |
| IA UK Gilts | -7.65% |
| IA UK Smaller Companies | -6.88% |
| IA EUR Government Bond | -4.70% |
Source: Morningstar Direct. Total Returns as of August-end 2024.
| Best and worst sectors over five years | % return |
| IA Technology and Technology Innovation | 13.85% |
| IA India/Indian Subcontinent | 13.71% |
| IA North America | 11.35% |
| IA Healthcare | 9.15% |
| IA Global | 8.38% |
| IA UK Index Linked Gilts | -8.07% |
| IA UK Gilts | -4.58% |
| IA China/Greater China | -4.56% |
| IA EUR Government Bond | -3.87% |
| IA EUR Mixed Bond | -3.65% |
Source: Morningstar Direct. Total Returns as of August-end 2024.
Investment funds
Of course, many people opt to put their money into an investment fund with a professional manager at the helm making all the decisions. These portfolios are the subject of our third and final section.
Putting money into a fund is regarded as being a generally safer option than investing in individual equities because you aren’t reliant on a handful of companies to perform.
However, that’s not to say you’re guaranteed success. Fund managers can make the wrong decisions and returns can also be affected by factors outside of their control.
For example, unexpected political or economic crises can adversely affect the share prices of even very well-run, profitable companies.
| Best and worst funds over one year | % return |
| Jupiter India Fund | 49.47% |
| Jupiter India Select | 49.30% |
| WisdomTree Blockchain UCITS ETF | 46.43% |
| WS Ruffer Gold Fund | 42.84% |
| Invesco Funds - Invesco India Equity Fund | 38.50% |
| Luxembourg Selection Fund Active Solar | -31.90% |
| Invesco Solar Energy UCITS ETF | -31.37% |
| First Trust Nasdaq® Clean Edge® Green Energy UCITS ETF | -28.46% |
| Guinness Asset Management Funds plc - China A Share Fund | -27.06% |
| WisdomTree Battery Solutions UCITS ETF | -24.89% |
Source: Morningstar Direct. Total Returns as of August-end 2024.
| Best and worst funds over three years | % return |
| iShares S&P 500 Energy Sector UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | 30.24% |
| SPDR® S&P® U.S. Energy Select Sector UCITS ETF | 30.01% |
| Xtrackers MSCI USA Energy UCITS ETF | 29.52% |
| WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF | 26.05% |
| Goldman Sachs North America Energy & Energy Infrastructure | 25.78% |
| Liontrust Russia Fund | -29.35% |
| New Capital China Equity Fund | -26.25% |
| Nikko AM ARK Disruptive Innovation Fund | -25.77% |
| Baillie Gifford Global Discovery Fund | -24.91% |
| GAM Star Fund plc - GAM Star China Equity | -23.40% |
Source: Morningstar Direct. Total Returns as of August-end 2024.
| Best and worst funds over five years | % return |
| iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | 24.10% |
| Xtrackers MSCI USA Information Technology UCITS ETF | 22.97% |
| Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust | 22.45% |
| SPDR® S&P® U.S. Technology Select Sector UCITS ETF | 21.54% |
| Xtrackers MSCI World Information Technology UCITS ETF | 21.35% |
| Liontrust Russia Fund | -14.79% |
| GAM Star Fund plc - GAM Star China Equity | -12.45% |
| iShares € Govt Bond 20yr Target Duration UCITS ETF | -10.60% |
| First Trust Nasdaq® Clean Edge® Green Energy UCITS ETF | -10.57% |
| SPDR® Bloomberg 15+ Year Gilt UCITS ETF | -10.27% |
Source: Morningstar Direct. Total Returns as of August-end 2024.
Ready to invest but want to shield your returns from the taxman? Open a Stocks & Shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown now.
The information included in this article does not constitute regulated financial advice. You should seek independent, professional financial advice before making any investment decision.
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