Fantasy fund manager: it’s a photo finish for the top spot

Moira’s stellar performance is good evidence that there is money to be made in UK equities, despite home-grown companies being out of favour with British investors. Her portfolio included two UK funds – City of London Investment Trust and Henderson Smaller Companies, which returned 28.1% and 9.2% respectively.

Her other two picks both had outstanding years. Shares in Polar Capital Technology rose by 33.1% over the year but her best performer was International Biotechnology Trust, which finished the year with a gain of 47.3%; a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the sector saw the share price surge in the second half of last year.

Moira said: “I’ve always invested as a buy and hold investor for the long term, so taking a punt on this year’s winners was a fun challenge that also felt slightly uncomfortable.

“My strategy was to combine some solid long-term performers with a few good hunches. It was like a ‘core and satellite’ approach to portfolio building, which works for many investors. I am naturally delighted with the results!”

Moira was pushed all the way by financial journalist Rosie Murray-West, who ended the year with a portfolio return of £12,824 on the original £10,000, only fractionally behind Moira.

Rosie was skilful or lucky enough to choose Gresham House Energy Storage Fund which turned out to be the top performer out of all contestants’ investment trust picks (and the sixth best performing investment trust of 2025 overall). Its share price gain was 71.9% over the year. It’s worth noting that the trust started 2025 on a discount of 58%.

However, its outstanding performance shows that wide discounts can be great entry points into bargain investment trusts. The discount narrowed to just over 32% during the year, thanks largely a share price rebound driven by strong earnings growth, increased capacity through more storage sites brought into operation and improved optimism about the trust’s prospects from investors.

Rosie said: “I'm delighted by the performance of some of my funds, especially Gresham House, which has really shot the lights out this year. GRID still trades on an over 30% discount to NAV though, indicating it may have further to go, while others, such as Canadian General Investments, only really hit their stride in the later part of 2025.

“That's the problem with trying to pick funds for a one-year time horizon when investments need to be held over five years or more. I'm hoping my four picks will continue to deliver for investors in 2026 after a good 2025, as I still reckon they're well placed for the future.”

Bronze medal goes to Kyle Caldwell funds and investment education editor at interactive investor. His portfolio returned 24.3%, with his best performing trust, RTW Biotech Opportunities, up by over 44%. His second-best pick, Fidelity Special Values, saw its shares rise by 37.2%. The trust specialises in picking unloved UK companies that its manager believes are well placed to recover and outperform over time.

Kyle said: “When selecting the four investment trusts I was keen to ensure I mixed and matched, having exposure to different regions and styles to achieve diversification, which is one of the golden rules of investing. I selected a ‘defender’ in Personal Assets, two core holdings operating as ‘midfielders’ in Fidelity Special Values and Alliance Witan, and at the top of the pitch I selected an adventurous option in RTW Biotech Opportunities.

“The attacker I picked had a strong year to the extent that if this was a live portfolio I would be considering taking some profits in order to rebalance and restore the risk level of the portfolio back to its original state.

“Each investment trust was picked on the basis of it being a long-term holding of at least five years, not just for one year. On a five-year view, I remain confident in the prospects for each of my choices, with no potential yellow flags occurring in 2025 – such as a change in fund manager or a change in investment style or approach.”

All the rest of our contestants saw their portfolios make profits over the 12-month period, except for one.

Ian Cowie, freelance journalist and a renowned DIY investor who writes regularly for the AIC and The Sunday Times about his investing journey, has an enviable long-term record with his own money – especially in investment trusts, which are his preferred investment vehicle.

But his experience in our competition shows that investors need to take a long-term view, as so many of our other players have pointed out.

The value of Ian’s portfolio fell by just over 3% during the competition. His worst performing trust was JP Morgan US Smaller Companies – a sector for which there was a great deal of optimism when President Trump took office last January, but which has remained out of favour, much to the frustration of small cap investors everywhere.

Ian said: “Fantasy fund management is plainly not my thing. Thank heavens the reality is rather better. India had a bad year in 2025 but I am glad I bought shares in what is now called JPMorgan India Growth & Income for 63p in 1996, which I still own and trade at £10.22 today. Long-term returns from a diversified portfolio of 20 investment trusts are more important to my life savings than short-term setbacks for a handful of stock picks from my faulty crystal balls.”