Australian shares finished the year on a positive note, with the S&P/ASX300 Index returning 0.8 per cent in December and 19.7 per cent over year.
Interim results of the Morningstar Australian Institutional Sector Survey showed consumer discretionary (40.7 per cent), financials (30.3 per cent), and telecommunication services (28.7 per cent) were the strong performing sectors over the year.
But materials (-2 per cent), resources (-1.4 per cent) and utilities (8 per cent) performed weakly.
Growth assets produced positive results over the calendar year, with global listed property up 5.8 per cent and Australian listed property up 7.1 per cent.
International shares were the standout and were up strongly in aggregate in Australian dollar terms over the past year, posting a 48 per cent return (MSCI World ex-Australia NR AUD).
The median international share strategy's return was 48.4 per cent over the year and 17.1 per cent per annum over the three years to 31 December, 2013.
Orbis (70.5 percent), Bernstein Global Strategic (57.8 percent), and Arrowstreet (56.7 percent) were the best-performing international share funds over the year to 31 December.
The median Australian share fund manager overtook the index by 3.5 per cent, at 23.2 per cent return for the year. Longer-term annualised returns were 9.9 per cent over the three years, and 13.5 per cent over five years.
Millinium (39.2 percent), Bennelong Concentrated (34.8 percent), and Dalton Nicol Reid (34.2 percent) were the best-performing Australian share strategies over the year to 31 December.
