A little went a long way: Why 2020 was the year of the small cap

Slight glimmer of hope on an ultimately dark year

2020 will hardly be the year the UK stockmarket covered itself in glory. According to data from FE fundinfo, the FTSE 100 index finished the year down 11.6%, compared to the MSCI World's gain of 12.3% – making it the worst-performing major regional stockmarket over the period.

Reasons for this are varied and subjective, but an index full of value-orientated and oil-focused stocks, an arguably erratic handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged Brexit uncertainty will have all played their parts. And yet, some UK equity funds have more than weathered the storm, with Gervais Williams and Martin Turner's Premier Miton UK Smaller Companies fund making it onto the list of top ten best performers in 2020 with a whopping 77.3% total return. Emerging markets, Covid-19 and the small-cap opportunity In fact, the UK equity funds that fared best in 2020 -  with ...