Fidelity was singled out for having the highest number of underperforming ‘dog funds’.
The company said it takes extended periods of underperformance "very seriously" and constantly monitors its funds.
ESG and ethical funds also featured widely in the latest Bestinvest Spot the Dog report.
The report said Fidelity’s performance was “notably worse” this year with a total of eight funds on the list.
The latest report shows a drop to 137 from the 151 in January’s report but it is still much higher than the 56 funds singled out a year ago.
The value of assets held by dog funds was also down, falling to £53.42 billion of investors’ wealth, a 44 per cent drop on the £95.26 billion held in the last version of the report.
Global equity featured strongly on the list with 44 of the funds, down from 51 in the previous list.
The latest edition of Spot the Dog considers data from the three year period to 30 June 2024.
Funds on the list must have underperformed by 5 per cent over three consecutive 12‑month periods.
Featured in the list were funds with a low exposure to energy, due to a surge in gas prices, meaning there was a higher number of ESG and ethical funds.
The surprising inclusion of two of Britain’s most prominent and widely held funds in the last report, Terry Smith’s Fundsmith Equity and Nick Train’s Lindsell Train UK Equity, has proved short lived with both funds dropping off the list this time.
Worsening performance from big firms
Fidelity’s eight funds on the list represent £8.4bn of assets and weaknesses are seen across the board.
Two of the funds were sustainable equity funds, which the report said fitted a pattern of weaknesses amongst such funds. i
But it added: “It is disappointing to see the breadth of underperformance at this important group.”
A spokesperson for Fidelity said it takes underperformace very seriously and said the majority of its funds perform well.
They said: "Fidelity manages a wide range of active funds covering a variety of styles, geographies and asset classes, the majority of which have outperformed their benchmark over one, three and five years.
"We take extended periods of underperformance very seriously and constantly monitor, review and take action to ensure we meet the needs of our clients."
Liontrust was another firm which has seen its position worsen from the last report.
It now has six funds on the list, with £3.2bn in assets, up from £2.9bn in the last report.
Four of the six are sustainable funds which have struggled in the face of weaknesses in some renewable sectors.
But the report said there are fewer excuses for the other two funds in the list - Liontrust US Opportunities Fund and Liontrust Global Alpha Fund.
A Liontrust spokesperson said the firm's bias to small and mid-caps in many of its investment strategies means it has been impacted by higher inflation and interest rates.
