Stock picker Steve Johnson has tested the loyalty of his long-time investors after a “horror” five years that saw wild swings in performance and left the fund manager stranded in companies like iSelect and Thorn Group that were hit by a brutal rout in small cap stocks.

While the average net return for the Forager Australian Shares Fund over the past three years is a decent 16.5 per cent per annum, the portfolio was down 18.4 per cent, up 87 per cent, and down 28 per cent over the 2020, 2021 and 2022 financial years.