Some of the best performing funds of 2023 are holding firm on bitcoin and mega-cap tech stock picks that made them big money last year, betting that the surge in prices will broaden out to as-yet untouched areas of the market.

While Regal Partners’ small-cap fund eked out the top spot for Australian equity managers, it was homegrown DigitalX’s bitcoin fund that was the best performer overall, returning just shy of 150 per cent in 2023, according to preliminary data from Morningstar.