Fund Focus: the biggest winners in the market rally

Stock markets have an uncanny ability to prosper in the face of uncertainty and that much has been obvious, yet again, in recent weeks.

We may have plenty of unanswered questions about developments in the Middle East and plenty of reasons to worry about the economy, but markets have nevertheless made some big gains since the end of March.

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In the funds space some names are winning out more than others. This means that it’s some of the old winners – and old crowded trades – of recent years leading the charge once again.

Tech back at the top

The artificial intelligence (AI) narrative has prompted some erratic behaviour from markets in recent months, with some investors believing it will turbocharge returns and others fearing it could dismantle once robust sectors, most notably software.

Some fund managers, meanwhile, have bailed out of Magnificent Seven stocks because of worries about their sizeable AI infrastructure spending.

Tech companies, and “growth” assets more generally, might suffer if the Iran war means higher inflation and interest rates staying higher for longer. As such, it makes some sense that tech funds have done especially well since hostilities appeared to ease off at the end of March.

Multiple tech funds have made returns of more than 20% so far in April, from Liontrust Global Technology C GBP Acc to Polar Capital Global Tech Inc GBP and Polar Capital Technology Ord (LSE:PCT).

There’s also AXA Framlington Glbl Tech Fund - R Acc, T. Rowe Price Global Tech Eq C Acc , Allianz Technology Trust Ord (LSE:ATT) and Liontrust Global Innovation C Acc GBP as well as some tech-adjacent thematic exchange-traded funds (ETF) such as the Amundi MSCI Semiconductors ETF Acc GBP (LSE:SEMG), WisdomTree Quantum Computing ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:QWTM) and iShares Automation&Robotics ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:RBTX).

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These funds will, of course, have some very different takes on the “tech” sector.

Liontrust Global Technology, which has returned more than 35% in just a few weeks and has the best performance out of those names listed above, backs some of the usual suspects, with top holding NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) accounting for around 10% of the portfolio, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 8.5% and the US in total making up some 67%.

The fund also has some popular AI plays from Asia, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR (NYSE:TSM) and South Korea’s SK Hynix. There are also lesser-known names such as Ciena Corp (NYSE:CIEN) and Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB), while we have an appearance from the increasingly popularLumentum Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LITE).

Other winners return

We are, meanwhile, seeing some other leading markets return to prominence, having initially suffered amid the breakout of hostilities. Korean equities have rebounded strongly with a Korea ETF up by around a third and Barings Korea I GBP Acc performing strongly, while the JPMorgan Taiwanfund is up by a similar amount.

This, once again, reflects the fact that shares associated with tech and AI have roared back to life. SK Hynix, one of the biggest constituents of the Korean market, has returned almost 50% in just a month, while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd DR (LSE:SMSN) and TSMC have also made massive gains.

The strength of Korea and Taiwan also partly explains the rebound enjoyed by emerging market equities in the last month, and names like Veritas Asian A GBP Inc, IFSL Marlborough Far East Growth A Acc and Fidelity Emerging Markets Ord (LSE:FEML) are all up by more than a fifth. It seems, for now, that the strongest momentum in the market hinges largely on the AI theme.

Having said that, the strongest performer over this period comes with a different theme.

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Seraphim Space Investment Trust Ord (LSE:SSIT) shares have returned almost 50% since the end of March, something that could relate both to growing excitement around the space exploration theme (as shown by SpaceX IPO hype) and to the need for greater defence spending. Seraphim today outlined plans to offer C shares to retail investors, subject to shareholder approval at a vote in May.

If we stick with funds that have returned at least 20% since the end of March, there’s one name that might seem more surprising. That’s Premier Miton European Opports B Acc, which tends to focus on mid-cap shares and likes companies that “can create value through a combination of growth in revenues and profit margins, and where their potential to create value is currently not reflected in the share price”.

It’s a pretty growth-focused fund that took a big hit back in 2022, made only a modest gain last year but has come back to life so far in 2026, and will likely have some holdings that are unfamiliar to many UK investors.

Operating in a pretty niche subsector, the Premier Miton fund is the only top performer from the last month that doesn’t seem to be in a crowded trade.

But as we have seen in recent years, being in a crowded trade has continued to pay off in the face of investor misgivings.