The Regular Investor’s Funds Portfolio was started on the 30th September 2019 with a lump-sum investment of €119,000 in order to match the contributions made to the Regular Investor’s Share Portfolio at that time (a portfolio that was started in November 2009). Each month since then an additional €1,000 has been contributed to the Regular Investor’s Funds Portfolio bringing the cumulative contributions to €190,000 by late-August 2025.
At the 15th August 2025, the portfolio value was €327,184. The same monies invested in bank deposits would today be worth €206,532 (taxes ignored in both cases) demonstrating in real time that equities generally beat bank deposits by a wide margin over time.
The chart above is the unitised value of the portfolio and is compared to the MSCI World Total Return (€) Index since September 2019. A total return index adds back dividends paid out, so that one computes a total return – the dividends earned plus the capital growth.
Since the 30th September 2019, the Regular Investor’s Funds Portfolio has grown by 11.7% compound per annum after annual portfolio costs of 0.9%. This performance is modestly ahead of the MSCI World Index which delivered an 11.1% compound per annum return (the index bears no costs) over the same period.
An all-funds portfolio carries much less risk compared to a share portfolio as each fund is diversified in its own right.
The table highlights the performance in each year since inception in 2019 and compares each yearly performance to the MSCI World Index.
Of the six years since 2019, the Regular Investor’s Funds Portfolio has outperformed in three years and underperformed in three years. This highlights the dispersion of performance among different geographic regions and different investment styles with the outperformance of US markets – which account for nearly 67% of the All Country World Index – making it difficult for funds that have a lower exposure to the US equity markets.
2025 YTD has been a decent year for the portfolio which has recorded a gain of 7.7% (after costs) compared to just 1.1% for the MSCI World Total Return (€) Index (performance up to the 15th August). As the next table highlights, the Gold Miners ETF has primarily been responsible for the 2025 outperformance.
Note: The performance statistic for the Regular Investor’s Funds Portfolio is different in both tables. The 7.7% return in the first table is more accurate as it incorporates the costs year to date and accounts for the actual weighting of each fund in the portfolio.
Indeed, if the last table highlights anything, it is that, even with funds, an investor can be well served by diversifying among different investment styles and different asset classes. Gold is an uncorrelated asset class compared to equities and is in its own bull market at present driven in particular by consistent central bank buying.
While Pantheon (private equity focused on tech & healthcare), Smithson Investment Trust (mid-cap quality growth stocks), 2Xideas (also mid-cap quality growth) and HgCapital Trust (private equity focused on technology) are all growth stock focused funds, they are all underperforming in 2025 to date despite the strong performance of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in general in the US.
The funds focused on value strategies (M&G European, Fidelity Special Values, Murray International, AVI Japan and AVI Global) have all done better in 2025 to date.
One could argue that an investor just needs to own a World ETF? In general, we have no argument with that but would make two points on it:
- It is so much more interesting for the do-it-yourself investor to own more than just the world index via an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
- At present, we argue that US equity markets trade at a substantial valuation premium to markets elsewhere and make up circa 67% of the All Country World Index. So, at the present time, we feel an investor is reducing valuation risk by investing more evenly across the world.
A Low-risk Approach to Saving & Investing
On a final note, regular investing is one of the lowest risk approaches to saving and investing through the stock markets where returns over time are likely to be considerably higher than the returns available from bank deposits. The Regular Investor portfolios in the members’ area of the website aim to assist those who have an interest in doing the investing for themselves and who can invest regularly over time. A subscription to the members’ area of our website costs €299 annually or €240 if you pay monthly. See our membership offering here which includes a weekly newsletter posted online.
For those interested in learning more about saving and investing through the stock markets, we hold 1-day investment training courses at various times throughout the year. We also have an online version of the course which can be accessed in your own time and from pcs, tablets and mobile phones.
Alternatively, contact the office by email (info@gillenmarkets.com) or by phone on 01 2871400.
