What were the drivers behind the best and worst-performing funds of Q1?

Indian funds struggled

Brazilian and Russian equity funds were among the winners during a turbulent first quarter of 2018 for investors, which saw most sectors post negative returns.

Global equity markets hit fresh highs at the start of the year on the back of a series of better-than-expected data releases and stronger forecasts for global growth. However, markets began selling off on 29 January as concerns over central bank policy and higher-than-expected inflation caused global bond markets to falter, with 10-year Treasury yields rising to 2.73%, their highest point since April 2014, and the sell-off spilled over into equities.  On 5 February, the Dow suffered its worst daily points decline in its 122-year history and volatility also returned with a vengeance, w...