Active management pays: FundSource

Actively managed New Zealand share funds performed well in August, as did international funds.

Wednesday, September 21st 2005, 7:16AM

Sharemarket returns in New Zealand and around the world may have dampened the performance of some managed fund sectors in the month of August, but fund managers of active New Zealand equity funds outshone the market, with just over half delivering positive results despite the negative market performance for the month.

The sector averaged 0.39% for the month, bringing the result for the year to date to 14.24% net of tax and fees according to the latest FundSource managed fund performance figures.

After three consecutive months of strong returns across the board, August brought very slightly negative returns to many of the funds with significant exposures to local and international shares, reflecting the events in these markets.

However, a month of very mild negative returns has had little impact on performances over longer time periods, with all sectors delivering positive average returns over 3- and 12- month timeframes.

FundSource’s managed fund returns are provided net of all relevant fees and taxes, reflecting the returns received by an investor in the fund.

Funds invested in New Zealand property delivered the top performances in August, with 1.40% for the month bringing the 12-month result to 14.34%.

Given the weak sharemarkets for the month, funds investing in income assets were the stronger performers in August.

Mortgage funds returned 0.42% in August against 4.75% for the year, followed closely by New Zealand fixed interest with 0.41% for August and 4.45% for the year.

International fixed interest funds made 0.45% for the month of August and 5.22% over the last 12 months.

International (Global) share funds were marginally down in August, at -0.76% while regional funds were slightly lower at -1.99%.

However, over the past 12 months international equity funds have delivered some truly impressive returns. The average global fund return for the period was 11.40%, and regional funds were even stronger over the same period with 15.29%.

Australian equity funds also had negative returns over August but for the past 12 months have appreciated by an impressive 19.26%, just slightly below Australasian funds, which also invest in NZ equities and generated average returns of 20.18%.

Use this link to find out which funds were the best performers Performance summary

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