Share fund managers post negative results in January
Australian share fund managers posted overall negative results over the first month of 2017, with the median returns -0.8 per cent for the month, according to a Morningstar study.
The Morningstar Australian Institutional Sector Survey also found that in January the Australian share fund managers was up 14.5 per cent counting year-on-year, although behind the S&P/ASX 300 index's 17.3 per cent.
The best-performing Australian share strategies of the year were Allan Gray (46.5 per cent), followed by Lazard Select (34.9 per cent) and Maple-Brown Abbott (27.3 per cent).
At the same time, global share strategies lagged Australian shares, with the median returning nine per cent on an unhedged basis. Orbis (26.6 per cent), Antipodes (18.4 per cent) and Platinum (16.7 per cent) were the best-performing global share funds over the year.
The median Australian property securities manager gained 7.4 per cent over the year, with winners being Folkestone Maxim (11.6 per cent), SG Hiscock (9.7 per cent) and Morningstar Investment Manager (9.5 per cent).
Growth assets delivered overall poor results, with Australian equities being the best performer in this class, followed by global listed property, global equities and Australian listed property.
Value Australian share strategies did better than their growth counterparts over the year, according to Morningstar's survey.
As far as the sectors were concerned, the resources (5.2 per cent) was the standout of the Australian sharemarket in January and it was followed by materials (4.8 per cent) and healthcare (4.6 per cent). The poor-performing sectors included industrials (-4.4 per cent), consumer discretionary (-4.3 per cent) and information technology (-4.2 per cent).
Recommended for you
The Federal Court has issued its verdict in ASIC's first greenwashing case against Vanguard Investments Australia regarding the use of ESG exclusionary screens.
Investment managers who plan to implement artificial intelligence in the next five years expect to see increased productivity, but views are mixed on whether it will boost revenue and assets under management.
A former corporate adviser has been sentenced in the Supreme Court of Western Australia for insider trading to realise a profit of more than $57,000.
Private markets expertise is sought-after for investment operations hires as allocations to alternative assets rise, according to a recruitment firm, but there is a gap between demand and supply.