Balanced funds with an overweight position on large cap Australian equities continue to be rewarded, with the ASX 300 again proving the best mainstream home for investors’ money in February.
According to the Mercer Pooled Fund Survey for periods ending February 28, the large cap skew was important because mid caps, small caps and listed property trusts all declined over the month.
In a month where a return of 2.2 per cent for the ASX 300 was enough to make it by far the best-performed asset class, Ausbil Dexia’s Balanced Fund topped the survey with 1.9 per cent after fees and tax, followed by Merrill Lynch’s Balanced Fund with 1.7 per cent.
Colonial First State’s Diversified pooled superannuation trust (PST) fared worst, with 0.5 per cent.
Over three years, Barclays Diversified Growth Fund and Maple-Brown Abbott’s PST tie for top honours with 7.6 per cent net returns.
