How to compare portfolio performance?

kimwp

Thanks all. To reiterate, this is an academic discussion with my colleague, he's convinced this fund has powered his portfolios increase, I'm not convinced due to the shape of it's curve. 

Isin: GB00B714XL11

I'm happy to share my portfolio, but I've fiddled with it a few times as I've felt more and less guilty about investing in ethical funds, so I need to write that out. I don't think, in isolation, it will help answer the question of why his has done better though, and I can't/won't share my colleague's portfolio.

Hoenir

kimwp said:

 he's convinced this fund has powered his portfolios increase, I'm not convinced due to the shape of it's curve. 

Any portfolio with a high concentration / exposure to the large US megacaps will have outperformed virtually any other market indice over recent years. That's a mathematical fact. Problem is. On a whole number of measures this has made this group of stocks extremely over valued. The stock price cannot rise infinitely higher. Without the companies themselves creating the new products / services to drive revenues and ultimately bottom line profit ( positive cash generation) upwards to support the level of valuations. 

Financial market history has seen many cycles over the centuries. Many people speculate in the expectation of getting rich quick. Investing is about taking a long term view and sticking to core principles. That ultimately will reward well. 

The stock market winners over the next decade. Are the currently ignored / unloved/ unexciting / cash generative / unleveraged stocks. That languish on a stock price well below their long term historic averages. 

The early bird catches the worm. 

bobfredbob

If you search for your ISIN, then one of the top links was FT.  Click on that, click on charts (near the top), then comparisons (on the right).  That allows you to compare your performance against something else.  

Two common comparisons are VWRP (a world tracker) and VUSA (an American S&P 500 tracker).

Click near the top on 5 years to see a graph of the past five years.  It seems you outperformed both of them, so I'd be fairly pleased.  You're recently slightly underperforming EQQQ (a NASDAQ tracker that's heavily weighted to technology).

If your colleague is doing even better, then good for them, but I'd be happy with your performance.

(Or, is that ISIN your colleague's?  In which case, yes, that's the one you should've got!)

Eyeful

Be satisfied, if your fund consistently appears in the top 25% of the table against its competitors. 

dunstonh

kimwp said:

Thanks all. To reiterate, this is an academic discussion with my colleague, he's convinced this fund has powered his portfolios increase, I'm not convinced due to the shape of it's curve. 

Isin: GB00B714XL11

I'm happy to share my portfolio, but I've fiddled with it a few times as I've felt more and less guilty about investing in ethical funds, so I need to write that out. I don't think, in isolation, it will help answer the question of why his has done better though, and I can't/won't share my colleague's portfolio.

A high proportion n that fund in the last decade would have done very well.

However, these things cycle.   In the first decade of this millennium, that fund would have lost money over 10 years and been worse than a global equities fund.    

Bostonerimus1

Here's how to compare fund performances. First get some apples and then get some oranges and see which is better. I'm being a bit flippant, but comparing funds can be as meaningless. Even if you simply look back at the gains over various time periods those gains will depend on the fund holdings and risk is a vital component to performance. Then when you bought and maybe sold is also an important factor. Ultimately it end up being rather frustrating.