Portfolios from Quilter, Timeline and Sparrows Capital have made the highest returns over the past three years in the highest-risk model portfolio service (MPS) sector, FE fundinfo data shows.
The 85%-100% Growth MPS sector made an average return of 39% over the three years to the end of 2025, outperforming all lower-risk MPS sectors. The period captured a strong equity market rally driven by artificial intelligence enthusiasm, robust corporate earnings and falling inflation, though volatility spiked during 2023’s banking sector concerns and 2024’s geopolitical tensions.
When it comes to the best individual model portfolios, passive and index-tracking strategies dominated the top performers with the highest-returning portfolio in the sector nearly 20 percentage points ahead of the peer group’s average.
Performance of WealthSelect Responsible Passive 10 vs sector over 3yrs to end-2025
Source: Finxl. Total return in sterling between 1 Jan 2023 and 31 Dec 2025.
Quilter's WealthSelect Responsible Passive 10 has made the highest return in the 85%-100% Growth MPS sector over the three years to end-2025, up 58.7% total return. The portfolio’s volatility over the period was 9.7%, with a Sharpe ratio of 1.4 and a maximum drawdown of 10.5%.
Managed by Stuart Clark, Helen Bradshaw and Bethan Dixon, it aims for capital growth while managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and maintaining a smaller carbon footprint than its benchmark index. It targets volatility of 95%-105% of global equities and invests in funds identified as leaders in ESG integration, with at least 50% of assets pursuing explicit environmental or social targets as part of their investment process.
WealthSelect Responsible Passive 10 currently has 88.8% invested in developed markets excluding UK equity, 9.5% in emerging markets and 1.7% in UK equity. The two largest positions are L&G Future World ESG Tilted and Optimised North America Index at 31.9% and iShares US Equity ESG Screened and Optimised Index at 31.8%.
Source: Finxl. Total return in sterling between 1 Jan 2023 and 31 Dec 2025.
In second place, Timeline Tracker 100 returned 58.1% over the three years to 31 December 2025. The portfolio posted volatility of 10.3%, a Sharpe ratio of 1.26 and a 12.34% maximum drawdown.
Founded by Abraham Okusanya, Timeline’s approach centres on passive tracking of global market cap-weighted equity indices with minimal cost drag. The Tracker range maintains a pure index philosophy without active tilts or tactical overlays, typically holding around eight low-cost index funds with a total cost of approximately 0.18%.
As its name suggests, Timeline Tracker 100 has 100% equity exposure tracking global stock markets. The portfolio reflects the natural weighting of global equity markets, with a substantial allocation to US equities given their dominance in global market cap indices.
Vantage Core Equity is in third place after returning 56.1% over the past three years, with volatility of 10.1%, a 1.2 Sharpe ratio and a maximum drawdown of 11.31%.
The portfolio is a pure index-tracking solution that seeks to broadly replicate the performance of global equity markets through passively managed regional equity funds. It invests across seven geographic regions with North America being the largest weighting, followed by Europe and emerging markets, along with an allocation to global small-caps.
Vantage Core Equity, like the other MPS products run by ebi, uses tolerance-based rebalancing monitored daily via an in-house algorithm, triggering trades only when pre-set bands are breached to minimise turnover and trading costs whilst maintaining alignment to strategic allocation.
Timeline ESG Tracker 100 returned 56.0% over the three years to end-2025, putting it fourth in the 85%-100% Growth MPS sector, with volatility of 9.9%, a Sharpe ratio of 1.3 and a maximum drawdown of 11.7%.
It follows Timeline’s passive index-tracking philosophy whilst incorporating ESG screening to enhance environmental, social and governance credentials. It maintains 100% equity exposure with ESG filters applied, aiming for minimal active risk whilst improving the portfolio’s ESG profile compared to standard market cap indices.
The fifth best MPS over three years is Sparrows SCore Market Equity Only (Funds) with a 55.4%. It posted volatility of 9.3%, a Sharpe ratio of 1.3 and a maximum drawdown of 9.7% over this period.
Sparrows Capital applies an evidence-based approach inspired by large institutional investors like the Norwegian Government Pension Fund, focusing on capturing market returns efficiently through low-cost index funds while avoiding stock picking and market timing. Sparrows SCore Market Equity Only (Funds) offers exposure to global equity markets without factor tilts or ESG screening.
It is fully invested in equities through regional index-tracking funds covering North America, Europe, Japan, UK, Asia Pacific ex-Japan, emerging markets and global small-caps. It uses quarterly threshold-based rebalancing monitored daily via an in-house algorithm, maintaining alignment to strategic allocation while minimising unnecessary trading.
The funds completing the 10 best model portfolios in the 85%-100% Growth MPS sector over the past three years are Tatton Tracker Global Equity (53.9%), Binary Capital Passive Adventurous (53.7%), Timeline Tracker 90 (53.4%), Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity MPS Global (53.2%) and EPIC MPS Risk Target Managed 7 (52.7%).