Schroders-managed funds comprise the largest group of underperforming products by both assets under management and tally, according to Bestinvest's biannual Spot the Dog report.
While the largest of the five Schroders own-brand funds stands at £348m (Schroders UK Equity), management of both Scottish Widows and HBOS funds propel the group to the top of the table.
The £3.8bn and £1.9bn HBOS UK Growth and UK Equity Income funds are a particularly bitter pill for the group to swallow, having not left the Spot the Dog list once since Schroders took them on in 2018.
Scottish Widows Pacific Growth and American Growth have finally left the list, however the two departures were replaced with four arrivals. Mainstays UK Growth and UK Equity Income return to the list after a brief absence, while European Growth and International Equity Trackers are first timers, with the four funds adding a combined £2.55bn to the doghouse.
St James's Place and Invesco swapped between second and third, with the wealth manager sneaking into silver position with £5.7bn of investor cash across six dog funds, while bronze medal assets total £5bn over four products.
More than half of SJP's place in the list is owed to its £3.1bn Global Equity fund, although Bestinvest did credit the manager with switching its managers to try and address the issues.
However, it did add that the "regularity with which [SJP] appears on the list is troubling, given that the group runs and outsourced model and can therefore choose managers from across the entire marketplace".
It also noted that its fees "consistently rank as some of the highest in the sector".
Spot the Dog: HBOS dethrones persistent underperformer Invesco
An internal shakeup is credited with Invesco culling its total dog funds from 11 to four, however the persistent underperformance of the former Woodford and then Barnett-managed UK Equity High Income and UK Equity Income funds was a concern.
At the extremes of the tally, JPMorgan and Hargreaves Lansdown managed to work their way into the top ten with a single fund each, sized at £3.9bn and £2.1bn respectively, while abrdn crept in at tenth place by AUM, with £1.8bn, although this was spread across six individual funds, all underperforming by Spot the Dog metrics.
Over a third of all Global Equity Income funds made the grade they were hoping not to, with 38% of the sector qualifying as dogs, while Global Equity funds also featured prominently, with 14% of funds featuring.
The US continues to hold huge sway over the sectors, with roughly two-thirds of the typically-used global indices weighted to the nations.
While the percentage of Global Equity funds registering as dogs was relatively high, these represent just 7% of the assets in the sector.
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Compare this to the 38% of dog funds in the Global Equity Income sector, which has struggled with few of the biggest growth names paying dividends, but 55% of total assets falling short of the mark.
The report did note that Smaller Companies and Emerging Market funds once again barely featured, with just one emerging market fund and one small-cap fund meeting its definition of dog, which Bestinvest suggested was owed to fund managers doing a "better job in less researched parts of the market".
Jason Hollands, managing director of Bestinvest, said: "In recent years, it has been tougher for investors to identify weak funds, with low interest rates and central bank money-printing programmes pushing share prices higher.
"Most funds investing in equities have generated gains irrespective of the skill of their managers. This rising tide has helped to disguise some bad decisions from fund managers who have earned handsome fees in the process.
"£45.4 billion is a lot of savings that could be working harder for investors rather than rewarding fund companies with juicy fees. At a time when investors are already battling inflation, tax rises and jumpy stock markets it is vital to make sure you are getting the best you can out of your wealth."
