Perpetual Investments has posted a decrease in funds under management (FUM) of $1.1 billion to $26.1 billion at the end of September 2019.
In an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the firm said the decrease comprised of $1.8 billion in net outflows from Australian equities, offset by market appreciation of $0.7 billion.
A Perpetual spokesperson told Money Management: “As an active value manager, the current market is expensive, and quality companies are trading at a premium.
“These market conditions have impacted the investment performance of our Australian Equities’ strategies. We remain true to label and consistent in our investment style which has delivered over the long-term.”
According to the announcement, the firm’s institutional channels experienced the largest outflows of $1.2 billion to $6 billion.
According to FE Analytics, over the three years to 30 September, 2019, Perpetual’s Australian Share fund returned 21.9% and its Ethical SRI fund at 13.7%. However, neither funds beat its ASX 300 benchmark which returned 40%, or the sector average at 32.6%.
The Australian Share fund’s factsheet said its largest sector allocation was financials ex property (31.1%), followed by materials (15.5%), consumer discretionary (12.6%), and cash and fixed interest (9.4%).
The fund’s largest holding was Commonwealth Bank at 7.7%, followed by Westpac at 6.3%, Suncorp at 6.2%, Telstra at 4.9%, and Woolworths at 4.8%.
Perpetual Australian Share fund and Ethical SRI fund v benchmark and sector performance three years to 30 September 2019
