John Gikas, left, and Aris Papageorgakopoulos manage funds that have returned over 100% in the past year by betting on Athens debt. Alkis Konstantinidis for The Wall Street Journal
The best-performing bond-fund managers in the world this year aren't in London, New York or California. They are based in Athens.
Panos Simos of NBG Asset Management and Aris Papageorgakopoulos and John Gikas of Eurobank Asset Management manage three bond funds that have delivered returns of more than 100% in the past year. No other bond funds tracked by Morningstar globally have offered such returns.
All three top performers have won big from making the same bet: buying Greek government bonds at the height of the euro-zone debt crisis and holding onto them when other investors were steering clear.
Investors' perception of Greece has turned around sharply in recent months. Some Greek government-bond prices have more than quadrupled from their nadir in June 2012, as fears of a Greek exit from the euro zone receded. Some major Greek companies have successfully issued bonds, and big-name investors have returned to Greek equities. Mark Mobius, who manages more than $40 billion in emerging-market assets at Franklin Templeton, told The Wall Street Journal this month that he plans to buy shares in Greek companies