Listed property trusts (LPTs) performed strongly amongst asset classes at the end of last year, only to lose ground in mid January as concerns about a hard landing of the economy abated.
The flight to the safety of LPTs turned the tables on the growth oriented asset classes which underperformed in December, as investors opted for securities offering a regular and safe income stream.
According to the Independent Property Trust Review’s (IPTR) January report, the LPT Price and Accumulation Indexes increased 3.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively in December. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Price Index suffered a drop of 2.1 per cent.
The LPT Index climbed about 6 per cent through December to 1377 points. The IPTR report cites uncertainty in the wider market and the prospect of future reductions in official interest rates as contributing factors for the climb.
However, since January 5, the LPT Index retreated 5 per cent to 1307 points, as funds began to move away from defensive stocks back to growth, amidst speculation that growth stocks may have been oversold, according to the report.
