FOUR OUT of five contenders in the Rehab Great Investment Race succumbed to the tough trading environment that persisted last month.

And their sizeable losses threw into sharp relief the positive performance of runaway leader Oppenheim Investment Managers.

Oppenheim continued to defy financial gravity in the first month of the new year - but only just.

Its monthly return dropped from 57.7 per cent in December to just 0.3 per cent in January, but the losses suffered by its competitors guaranteed that its lead position remained safe.

Oppenheim's total return since the charity race kicked off in July now stands at an impressive 112.6 per cent, which means that its initial €100,000 investment pot has now grown to €212,558.

Oppenheim's race-fund manager Stephen Hynes stuck with the active trading style that has stood him in good stead so far, and once again managed to outplay the market. He dipped in and out of several solar power companies such as Q-Cells, Suntec Power and Everygreen Solar.

He also dabbled in Daystar Technologies and the Ultrashort S&P 500. The only stocks carried over into February were Suntech and the California-based solar technology developer Xsunx.

Fortunes were not as kind to Oppenheim's opponents, who were all nursing net losses by the end of January. In particular, Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) suffered at the hands of market conditions, losing almost 16 per cent of its fund.

The original €100,000 it received from Rehab Lottery at the outset of the race has fallen to €77,852, leaving BIAM trailing way behind the rest of the field.

Previously BIAM's fund manager Pat Cunningham held to a buy-and-hold strategy which involved just four stocks, rather than taking numerous short-term positions. However, last month he shook up his portfolio slightly, selling out of steel giant Arcelor Mittel and buying into MacQuarie Infrastructure Group. As well as MacQuarie, he held three other stocks into February: Sonic Healthcare, an Australian medical diagnostics company; Hong Kong property developer Sun Hung Kai; and French services company Vallourec.

Irish Life Investment Managers did not fare much better. A drop of 13.5 per cent incurred in its fund's value in January compounded previous losses and pushed it into negative territory. At the end of the month the fund was valued at €93,316, which means that Irish Life slid from second place to fourth in the league table.

Fund manager Seamus Magner upped his already active trading style to a more rapid-fire approach, buying and selling 13 stocks during the month.

The only stock held over into February was the beleaguered French bank SocGen.

AIB Investment Managers held its mid-table position at number three, even though its fund shed 11.6 per cent of its value during January, falling from a €107,184 at the end of 2007 to €94,739.

Despite losing ground, fund manager Keith Johnstone stuck to his guns and continued with the buy-and-hold position he adopted in December, when he shifted away from his previous more active style.

He resisted the temptation to adjust his portfolio, and instead held on to just four stocks - Crocs, Flir Systems, National Oilwell and Nintendo - even though all four stocks declined in January.

The biggest movements were in National Oilwell, which fell 19 per cent, and Nintendo, which dropped 18 per cent, while Flir Systems and Crocs fell by a more modest 4 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, KBC Asset Management jumped two places to second position overall despite its fund falling in value by 3 per cent or €2,933.

Fund manager Noel O'Halloran also favoured a less active approach than some other competitors.

At the end of January, KBC's portfolio was invested in CRH, Smartrac, Acciona, Tele Norte Leste Participcoes and Cia de Saneamento Basico.

Although KBC managed to maintain its league position, Oppenheim widened its lead to €117,000, meaning that there is a huge amount of ground to be made up in the remaining legs of the race if the current leader is to be knocked off the top spot.

The combined gains of all competitors in the charity investment race dwindled from €118,046 at the end of December to €74,023 by the end of January.

Any profits made from the Rehab race will be used to help autistic children and their families in Ireland.