The best and worst: Units get glimpse of recovery

RECOVERY funds may finally be coming into their own, after a long time in the wilderness.

The average recovery trust grew by nearly 23 per cent over the past six months. This is particularly good news for investors in Brown Shipley's recovery fund, which is now doing well after languishing at the bottom of the unit trust performance tables.

Patrick Evershed, who moved from Framlington and took over management of the fund about two years ago, has reorganised the portfolio. He believes the Budget will aid a recovery that he is convinced is now established. This may not be evident in all the statistics, but the signs are there if you look closely, he said.

M&G's recovery fund, one of the largest trusts, is notable for its absence from the top five in the UK growth sector over six months. But it is not far behind the leaders - ranking eighth, with a profit rise for its unitholders of more than 35 per cent.

Shares in larger companies are now being outpaced, on average, by those of smaller and medium-size companies. The FT-SE 100 index rose by slightly more than 24 per cent in the six months to the beginning of March, whereas the FT-SE Mid-250 was up by more than 38 per cent.

Not all the worst performing UK growth unit trusts over that period were necessarily big company specialists.

Invesco's pounds 80m Great British Companies fund can switch between large and small companies, but a spokesman said the portfolio was weighted towards larger companies in September when the stock market in general, and small companies in particular, began to gain ground.

----------------------------------------------------------------- BEST AND WORST: UNIT TRUSTS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Recovery and UK Growth funds The best pounds 1 Fidelity Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . .143.68 2 Brown Shipley Recovery . . . . . . . . . 143.60 3 Schroder Inst Recovery . . . . . . . . . 139.59 4 Family Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138.97 5 GT UK Special Situations . . . . . . . . 138.78 The worst 146 Lloyds Bank UK Growth . . . . . . . . .113.93 147 Invesco Great British Companies . . . .113.39 148 Save & Prosper Scotshares . . . . . . .113.11 149 BSI-Thornhill Capital . . . . . . . . .111.46 150 Providence Capital CAM British Growth .109.84 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Value of pounds 100 over six months to 1 March, 1993. Offer-to-bid, net income reinvested. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Micropal -----------------------------------------------------------------