Masterfunds results disguise market volatility
There was little change for the masterfunds sector over the year to March 2012, down by just 0.3 per cent, or $1.4 billion, to $433.1 billion.
The results hide what was a year of high volatility for global investment markets, which "ebbed and flowed back and forth, ultimately going nowhere", according to Plan For Life.
Although the March quarter saw masterfunds rocket up by 5.3 per cent, this gain was recently reversed when the "sell in May and go away" sentiment took hold. This was primarily spurred on by the unresolved financial problems affecting Europe and the US.
BT Financial Group and Commonwealth Bank/Colonial First State both reported modest increases in their overall masterfunds business over the past 12 months, growing by 3.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.
Perpetual Group and OnePath Australia both reported a significant drop in annual growth, falling 10.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively.
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