Fund performance Charts

SallyG

http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/fund-data/fund-performance
Tried juggling the filters to see if there was any pattern to learn from as part of ongoing search for any logic that applies to investment but then this footnote:
"Source: FE. You shouldn't use performance as a suggestion of future performance. It shouldn't be the main or sole reason for making an investment decision."

If it's of no use in deciding where to invest why is there so much interest in past fund performance?

JohnRo

Past performance is the only tangible available for any sort of analysis and comparison of said investment with others or itself.

Attempts to make sense of how any of that analysis will describe performance going forward is where things become sketchy at best.

Linton

For me past performance figures are useful for

1) Using the individual annual performance figures to judge the volatility of potential choices, and whether increased volatility has resulted in better performance.

2) Avoiding the complete dogs.

(1) is the major one.

I disagree with the absolutist view that past performance is no guide whatsoever to future performance. Even in a single sector different funds and different managers have different investment styles that can be more or less appropriate to the sector and to market conditions. Investment style is a long term feature, some insight is provided by historic performance data.

talexuser

If you pay no attention at all to past performance and more importantly which manager achieved that performance compared to the sector trends during that time which helped or hindered that performance... you may as well just choose funds with blindfold and pin.

Or stick to boring old trackers

Red_Cat

Boring trackers can be very cheap, but must be assessed to ensure they match the index they are tracking within a certain (small) tolerance. Past data is a good indicator of this.