Investments worth £18bn in dog funds

SOME £18bn of savers’ cash is languishing in underperforming funds.

M&G, Aberdeen and Invesco Perpetual have all been named as having some of the worst performing investment funds in the latest Spot The Dog report by Tilney Bestinvest.

So-called dog funds are those which have undershot their rivals for three consecutive years and by more than 10pc over three years.

M&G now runs £11.9bn of underperforming assets, according to the report. Aberdeen has the most funds listed, with six featuring.

Global funds were the worst performers, with 16 dogs in the group.

But just 30 funds are named this time, down from 54 six months ago.

Hugh Young, head of investment at Aberdeen, said: ‘Our long-term approach to investing means we will suffer periods of short-term underperformance, and the previous couple of years are an example of this.’

Graham Mason, chief investment officer at M&G, said: ‘We acknowledge the challenging performance some of the funds have experienced. We have been addressing this and the performance of these funds this year is encouraging.’

Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Bestinvest, said: ‘No matter how thoroughly you research your choices ahead of investing, the fate of funds and their managers can change over time.’