The best and worst: Unit trust sector post crash

SOME of the smaller markets of south-east Asia, including Hong Kong, were among the hardest hit in the world stock market crash that happened five years ago tomorrow.

The harder a market or individual share falls, the further it can bounce. This explains some of the spectacular gains achieved on money invested in Far Eastern trusts (excluding Japan) just after the equities crash.

Many of these markets have also performed well because of fast economic growth.

Nigel Legge, sales and marketing director of James Capel Unit Trust Management, says that as the Far East has become a more important sector, investors have felt obliged to increase their holdings in the region.

However, not all markets and individual shares hit hard in the crash, have bounced back.

There is little difference between the lists of best and worst performing sectors in the five years from just after the crash until now and the five years dating from the peak of the 1980s bull market. The Far East ranks third in the five years from 1 October 1987 with an average profit on unit trusts invested in this area of just under 18 per cent.

----------------------------------------------------------------- UNIT TRUST SECTORS POST-CRASH ----------------------------------------------------------------- The best pounds 1 Far East excl Japan 225.46 2 America 168.98 3 Europe 145.31 4 International Balanced 133.94 5 Int'l Fixed Interest 133.51 The worst 18 Japan 98.62 19 Convertibles 91.42 20 Commodity & Energy 86.17 21 UK Smaller Co's 81.36 22 Financial & Property 76.49 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Value of pounds 100 invested in an average performing trust within each sector between 2 November 1987 and 5 October 1992. Offer-to- bid, income reinvested. Source: Micropal -----------------------------------------------------------------