Stock market valuations have been hitting new highs this year, continuing a trend that started after the EU referendum last summer. For many of the 60 guru-inspired investment strategies tracked by Stockopedia, these have been ideal conditions. In the first quarter we saw growth and momentum strategies put in the best performances. But there were some stellar gains right across the strategies spectrum.

In the 2016 review of the gurus, it was interesting to see how different investing methods fared in a year that proved to be a tale of two halves for equities. In the second half, growth strategies leapt ahead, but that led to signs of tension. In particular, the numbers of companies passing some of the classic GARP strategies (growth at a reasonable price) hit very low levels.

If you look at some of the index performances in Q1 of 2017, it’s clear where the action has been. The smaller end of the market like the FTSE SmallCap and the Alternative Investment Market have edged the gains. It’s here where you’re more likely to find fast growth stocks, and that’s reflected in the strategy performances.

Index / Strategy Composite Q1 2017 Performance 12 Months Performance
FTSE 100 +2.5% +18.6%
FTSE All Share +3.0% +16.3%
FTSE 250 +4.9% +12.1%
FTSE SmallCap XIT +5.4% +16.3%
AIM 100 +11.9% +36.5%
Guru Strategy Composite +7.0% +19.8%
Growth Composite +11.4% +24.9%
Bargain Composite +9.3% +32.9%
Momentum Composite +7.1% +23.7%
Value Composite +5.6% +12.6%
Income Composite +5.3% +13.5%
Quality Composite +3.6% +12.8%

A note about the guru strategies

We’ve been tracking these strategies for five years and the only certainty is that different styles work better in different conditions! So, short-term performance statistics are just a…

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