Defaqto has published a list of the best-performing portfolios over the past five years, recognising the most consistently strong-performing managed portfolio service (MPS) solutions.

The firm stated that MPS's continued to be the fastest growing part of the investment market, with its MPS Comparator Awards assessing the best operators in the market based on five years’ discrete risk-adjusted performance measures.

The top performers have been named across five MPS Comparator cohorts: Defensive, cautious, balanced, growth, and adventurous.

It announced a winner in each category, alongside five ‘highly commended’ MPS solutions.

Quilter managed portfolio solutions lead across the cautious, balanced, and growth cohorts with its WealthSelect Managed Blend 6, WealthSelect Managed Blend 8, and WealthSelect Managed Blend 9, respectively.

Meanwhile, Ascencia came out on top in the defensive category with its Portfolio of Sharia Compliant Solutions 4, and Tatton won out in the adventurous cohort with its Core Global Equity.

The findings were based on Defaqto using its MPS Comparator, computing the leading models, per peer group, on a risk adjusted, five-year discrete net performance basis, as at the end of December 2024.

Defaqto identified the most consistent MPS portfolios within each Comparator based on a variety of quantitative data measurements, then the results were assessed and reviewed by the Defaqto Investment Committee.

“First and foremost, a huge congratulations to all the winners and highly commended,” commented Defaqto head of investment & protection, Andy Parsons.

“As the quote by Mohnish Pabrai succinctly summarises, ‘minimising downside risk while maximising the upside is a powerful concept’.

“With over 1,100 portfolios being appraised, the winners and highly commended are spread across a total of 10 different DFM providers and are a testament to the rigorous investment processes and philosophies they each adopt.

“The most prominent performance comes from the Quilter WealthSelect range. Having achieved three highly commended positions last year, this year they have taken the awards by storm, winning three of the Comparator categories, and also having highly commended portfolios in the defensive, cautious and adventurous Comparator categories. Testimony to the consistency and spread of the Wealthselect range.

“For the second year running, the adventurous Comparator category was won by Tatton, and having had three portfolios achieve recognition last year, this year they increased that number to five, another provider clearly demonstrating the breadth and depth of their propositions.

“The other most notable standout performance came from Ascencia who, like both Quilter and Tatton, not only increased the number of their portfolios achieving recognition this year to four from two but also achieved the ultimate success, with the Ascencia Portfolio of Sharia Compliant Solutions 4 winning the defensive Comparator.”

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