Commodities, Latin American and Japanese smaller companies trusts were the best performing investment trusts on average last year, according to data from FE Analytics. 
Conversely, property securities, North American smaller companies and UK equity income trusts were among the worst performers of 2017.
Last year was an uncertain 12 months for markets with political risks including general elections, Brexit and North Korea causing varying degrees of uncertainty for investors.
While markets largely shrugged these off and some sectors in the investment trust universe performed strongly, some struggled to keep pace as the below table shows.
Table of best and worst performing sectors in 2017
Source: FE Analytics
The top sector was IT Japanese Smaller Companies sector, with the average trust here returning a whopping 53.17 per cent throughout 2017.
This was followed by the IT European Smaller Companies sector, which returned 43.04 per cent over the year.
Both regions saw growth in 2017 and are seen as having supportive leadership and central banks - something that investors have craved.
Additionally, Ben Yearsley, director at Shore Financial Planning, noted: "With synchronised global growth for the first time really in a decade, it is unsurprising that risk assets performed strongly in 2017."
Technology had another strong year as large-cap US tech stocks continued lead the S&P 500 to new highs despite many concerns that valuations have become too stretched with property securities also making a comeback after a down year in 2016 when the sector made 5.53 per cent.
At the other end of the spectrum, the IT Insurnce and Reinsurance Strategies sector struggled, down 24.68 per cent as non-life insurance comapnies were hit by an increase in the number of natural disasters this year.
At an individual trust level the best performer was the £364m Phoenix Spree Deutschland European property investment trust, which rose 72.27 per cent.
It follows a strong performance in 2016 when the trust returned 52.45 per cent, and since its launch in 2015 it has returned 176.25 per cent.
The trust is a concentrated portfolio of properties in Berlin that looks to buy, renovate and optimise and then finally reinvest profits from rental increases or the sale of properties.
Table of 25 best performing investment trusts in 2017
Source: FE Analytics
Away from European property, the next best performer is the five FE Crown-rated Independent Investment Trust, which returned 71.34 per cent to investors in 2017.
The £368m global equities-focused investment company is run by managing director Max Ward, a former partner at Baillie Gifford and the former manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust until April 2000.
The trust is a concentrated portfolio of 30 stocks with its largest holding FeverTree Drinks making up 11.8 per cent. Housebuilder Redrow and robotics software specialist Blue Prism round out the top three.
The top UK trust is the five crown-rated Manchester & London IT run by Mark Sheppard, which is benchmarked against the Dow Jones UK Total Stock Market Index.
However, it has a global mandate, with 54.5 per cent invested in US stocks, 16.7 per cent in UK stocks and 15.7 per cent in Chinese companies, according to its latest factsheet.
Technology is a big theme, with 51.5 per cent of the trust invested in the sector and Amazon.com, Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook and Alibaba (its top five holdings) making up 40.4 per cent of the overall portfolio.
After a difficult period, the trust has seen a considerable turnaround in recent years, as the manager has adopted a momentum growth investment approach that has seen him back a number of leading global disruptive companies in the technology, healthcare and consumer goods sectors, analysts at Winterflood Investment Trusts noted.
Also near the top of the list is the £105m River & Mercantile UK Micro Cap trust run by FE Alpha Manager Philip Rodrigs.
It is a growth-orientated portfolio that offers exposure to UK stocks with market capitalisations of less than £100m at the point of investment.
“The manager’s bottom-up, stock picking approach has generated significant NAV outperformance since its launch in December 2014 and over the turbulent past 12 months whilst also limiting drawdowns and volatility,” analysts at Kepler Trust Intelligence noted.
They added that it is an “attractive offering for long-term investors who want genuine micro-cap exposure and diversification within a wider portfolio”.
However, not all funds performed so well in 2017, with a number of trusts in the IT Unclassified sector experiencing significant falls throughout the year.
Table of 25 worst performing investment trusts in 2017
Source: FE Analytics
The worst trust in the universe was the £863,000 Draganfly Investments Limited investment company, which lost 58.14 per cent during 2017.
The company appointed geology expert Adam Wooldridge as chief executive officer in August and has been "actively assessing" potential mineral investment opportunities.
"The board remains confident that the company will either complete, or have entered into, a transaction that satisfies the AIM requirements set out in the company's announcement dated 21 March 2017, by the deadline of 20 March 2018," chairman Luke Bryan said in its December interim results.
Away from the IT Unclassified sector, the IT Insurance and Reinsurance Strategies’ £121m Blue Capital Alternative Income Fund and $397m CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities both struggled last year, down 25.4 and 24.79 per cent respectively.
The Share Centre’s Andy Parsons noted that for those investors who exposed their portfolio to insurance, 2017 was a testing year for the non-life insurance industry, given global catastrophes such as hurricanes in the US.