Money is starting to move out of term deposits and other cash deposits into equities and bonds, according to Equity Trustees head of corporate fiduciary and financial services, Harvey Kalman.
Kalman said this was, in part, responsible for the funds under management (FUM) in the Pimco EQT retail bond funds increasing by over $1 billion, with $820 million of that amount representing net inflows.
"We see three main sources for these substantial inflows," he said. "Investors getting out of term deposits; a switch from passive to active managers; and a rebalancing out of model portfolios.
"It also helped that the PIMCO EQT Global Bond Fund delivered returns of over 14 per cent in 2012, while the PIMCO EQT Australian Bond Fund returned 8.6 per cent," Kalman said.
He said falling domestic interest rates during the year had clearly been a factor, focusing investors' minds on the need for alternatives to cash products.
"At the same time, financial planners have clearly done a terrific job in getting clients to understand the benefits of diversification in their portfolio," Kalman said.
