Solid month for Aussie share managers


The median Australian share fund manager posted a solid month in October thanks to energy shares standing out in the Australian sharemarket at eight per cent, according to Morningstar.
This was followed by utilities (6.9 per cent) and healthcare (6.2 per cent) in the sector. Poorer-performing sectors included telecommunication services (-2.8 per cent), consumer staples (0.4 per cent), and information technology (0.6 per cent).
Growth Australian share strategies did better than their value counterparts during the month with S&P Australian BMI Growth Index returning 4.8 per cent, compared to the S&P Australia Value Index's 4.4 per cent.
Overall, the median Australian share fund manager recorded a 4.7 per cent increase, ahead of the S&P/ASX 300 index's 4.4 per cent gain, over the month to 31 October 2015.
Longer-term annualised returns from the median manager were 1.4 per cent over the year, 11.8 per cent over three years, and 8.1 per cent over the five years to 31 October.
The best-performing Australian share strategies over the year to 31 October were Bennelong Concentrated (27.1 per cent), Macquarie High Conviction (22 per cent), and Platypus (15.8 per cent).
Global shares also performed during the month with the median manager returning 5.9 per cent on an unhedged basis.
Antipodes (37.6 per cent), Magellan (36.7 per cent) and Carnegie (34.3 per cent) were the best-performing global share funds over the year to October.
Global equities produced the best growth asset return at 6.3 per cent, followed by global listed property (5.7 per cent), Australian listed property (5.0 per cent), and Australian shares (4.4 per cent).
Recommended for you
Australian fund managers are actively seeking to launch Cayman versions of their funds to attract offshore flows, with Regal Partners set to launch its latest offering this month.
As private markets gain traction in Australia but only a limited pool of talent is available, three recruiters explore whether fund managers should consider looking overseas to find top talent.
With an explosion of private credit managers appearing in the market, two alternatives experts believe a consolidation is needed to maintain the quality of the sector.
Bentham Asset Management has become the latest fund manager to expand its distribution team as it reports increased interest in its credit strategies.