Large fund managers top global equities
The CFS FirstChoice Acadian Wholesale Geared Global Equity fund provided the best return during the 2010s – and by a significant margin – returning 624.11%, according to data from FE Analytics.
This was followed by PM Capital Long Term Investment (367.96%), Magellan Global (335.19%), CFS Generation WS Global Share (313.56%), Macquarie IFP Global Franchise (291.98%), MFS Concentrated Global Equity Trust Wholesale (286.01%), CFS FirstChoice Wholesale Geared Global Share (274.56%), Zurich Investments Unhedged Global Growth Share Scheme (273.58%), Zurich Investments Global Growth Share Scheme (272.44%) and Legg Mason QS Investors Global Equity X (265.46%).
The sector average was 172.45%, with a Sharpe ratio of 0.75.
Almost all of the top 10 were from major fund managers, with PM Capital being the only boutique fund manager on the list, as opposed to the Australian equities sector in the same timeframe where five of the top 10 were boutiques.
As with the performance of the Australia equities during that same time, the decade was marked with significant growth after rebounding from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
When it came to risk-adjusted returns, Macquarie had the best Sharpe ratio (1.07), followed by Magellan (1.06), CFS Generation (1.04), MFS (0.99), Legg Mason (0.87), both Zurich funds (0.86), PM and CFS FirstChoice Acadian (0.74), and CFS FirstChoice Geared Global (0.59).
The CFS FirstChoice Acadian fund’s strategy was to capture long-term capital appreciation by borrowing to invest in all global equities, but the Australian market.
Its current top holdings were Microsoft (4.84%), Apple (4.25%), Alphabet (2.4%), Berkshire Hathaway (2.31%) and Procter & Gamble (2.24%).
The fund’s inception was 16 April, 2007 and if you had invested then, as opposed to the beginning of the last decade, you would’ve only seen a return of 114.27%.
Its return from 16 April, 2007 to 31 December, 2009 – during the height of the GFC was -70.41%.
Top 10 best performing funds over the 10 years v sector to 31 December 2019
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