Skagen flagship funds suffer 'stormy and challenging' August

China worries hurt performance

Two of Skagen's largest funds underperformed their benchmarks last month as volatility overwhelmed global markets following a downturn in China.

The £3bn Skagen KonTiki fund was down 9.6% in August against a fall of 8% for the MSCI Emerging Markets index. Year to the end of August the fund is down 16.3% compared to an index drop of 11.9%, according to its latest factsheet. Skagen blamed economic issues in China, such as the devaluation of renminbi and subsequent market falls, for the underperformance of emerging markets. In its latest investment update, the group said: "Stormy and challenging August markets brought mixed fortunes for our funds and equity markets generally. "There have been discussions this month whether we ...