Ian Cowie: my winners and losers in Q2

Our columnist looks back on a profitable three months.

2nd July 2026 10:28

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Spare a thought for stock market pessimists or “bears” who were predicting imminent doom (again) at the start 2026’s second quarter (Q2).

Bulls or optimists were rewarded for bravery during the last three months, when it paid to remain invested despite all the reasons to be fearful. Only one out of 22 investment trusts in my “forever fund” actually lost money.

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Hang your head in shame, BlackRock Latin American Ord (LSE:BRLA), which turned £1,000 at the start of April into just £955 by the end of Q2. No wonder nearly a quarter of shareholders by value bailed out in BRLA’s tender offer last month.

To be fair, this remains the only investment trust offering exposure to that continent with its vast resources of hard and soft commodities; from copper and silver to coffee and corn. Against all that, owning shares in BRLA has been a dismal experience for many years.

I transferred stock from a paper-based broker in January 2010, when BRLA traded at £3.10 and - more than 16 years later - they fetch £4.25 at the time of writing. A dividend yield marginally above 5% has increased by a modest two percentage points per annum over the last five years, according to the London Stock Exchange Group.

If it weren’t for vivid memories of a business trip to Buenos Aires and Caracas back in the 1990s, I might have bailed out long ago.

More recently, BRLA bounced back in 2025, and the shares have delivered a total return of 20% over the last 12 months. But it is sad to see their recent recovery seem to run out of steam so soon.

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Next worst in my forever fund over the last three months is Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW), which turned £1,000 into £1,076 during this period. Falling energy prices and rising political interference, with Labour maintaining an idiotic Tory windfall tax on the North Sea, both hurt this renewable energy generator.

Against all that, UKW’s dividend yield of 10.5% has risen by an annual average of 7.8 percentage points over the last five years.

Better still, these dividends reach me without any further deductions by HMRC because I hold these shares in an ISA.

Third worst during Q2 stands Ecofin Global Utilities & Infra Ord (LSE:EGL) with an end value of £1,099. This is surprising as EGL’s usually solid performance means it rarely ranks among the forever fund laggards.

Once again, income softens the capital disappointment with EGL yielding just over 3% and dividends rising by an annual average of 5.2 percentage points over the last five years.

There is also comfort to be had from this fund’s blue-chip portfolio.

Its top 10 holdings are led by Spain’s green energy giant, Iberdrola SA (XMAD:IBE), followed by Britain’s biggest electricity distributor, National Grid (LSE:NG.), and American renewables group NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE).

All should gain from long-term rising demand for electricity and anxiety about climate change.

Turning to the winners, my third-best fund during Q2 was Schroder Japan Trust Ord (LSE:SJG), which turned £1,000 into an entirely acceptable £1,253.

The country’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, elected last October, continues to drive economic reforms, including greater emphasis on delivering returns to shareholders.

A weaker yen helped SJG’s exporters, such as top 10 holdings in the electronics conglomerate, Hitachi, and the motor manufacturing group, Mitsubishi.

Its dividend yield of 3.25% pays me to be patient. Perhaps surprisingly, SJG pipped high-profile Seraphim Space Investment Trust Ord (LSE:SSIT) by just £1 to get into my top three during this period.

Second-best in Q2 stands India Capital Growth Ord (LSE:IGC), which yields no income at all but delivered sufficient capital growth to end the period with £1,254.

As you might expect with a fund that focuses on medium-sized and smaller companies on the subcontinent, none of its underlying holdings is a household name in Britain.

But, because India has to import most of the oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) it needs, IGC should benefit if the Strait of Hormuz remains open and energy prices continue to fall.

Best of all, Polar Capital Technology Ord (LSE:PCT) earned pole position among investment trusts in my forever fund with an eye-stretching Q2 end value of £1,485.

Ben Rogoff, who marked 20 years at the helm of this fund last month, shrewdly switched away from businesses spending money on artificial intelligence (AI) and bought into companies gaining from that expenditure.

So, PCT’s top holdings are led by NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world’s biggest chipmaker; followed by Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL), the self-descriptive Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR (NYSE:TSM) and its American rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD).

Meanwhile, the iPhone-maker Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) slips down the hierarchy to become PCT’s eighth-biggest holding.

Nick Britton, research director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), told me: “It was a record-breaking quarter for global markets, with some handsome performance from technology, as well as the Asia Pacific and emerging markets sectors.”

So, winners outnumbered losers, despite many commentators fearing the worst at the outset of Q2. No wonder City cynics say that bears sound clever but bulls make money.

Ian Cowie is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of interactive investor.

Ian Cowie is a shareholder in Apple, BlackRock Latin American, Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure, Greencoat UK Wind, India Capital Growth, Microsoft, Schroder Japan and Seraphim Space as part of a globally diversified portfolio of investment trusts and other shares.

These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

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