Morningstar has published interim results of the Morningstar® Australian Institutional Sector Survey, providing comprehensive coverage of the performance of Australian institutional investment strategies to 30November 2012.
The Australian Institutional Sector Survey is designed to enable institutional investors, superannuation trustees, asset consultants, and other market participants to meaningfully compare Australian investment strategies.
Key Findings
- Performance across domestic assets was subdued over the month of November. Australian shares were up 0.4 percent, and Australian real estate investment trusts (AREITs) returned -1.3 percent. To date, Australian shares have recorded a healthy return of 17.4 percent for the calendar year, and there has been 10 months of positive performance, with May the solitary month with a negative return.
- The Australian sharemarket was up 5.6 percent over the three months and 14.2 percent over the year to 30 November 2012. Longer-term returns for the S&P/ASX300 Accumulation Index were 2.9 percent over three years, -3.0 percent over five years, and 8.5 percent over the 10 years to 30 November 2012.
- Healthcare (6.1 percent) was the standout sector of the Australian sharemarket over the month of November. Telecommunications services (3.8 percent) and consumer discretionary (3.4 percent) also provided solid results over the month. Poorer-performing sectors included energy (-2.7 percent), resources (-1.5 percent), and AREITs (-1.3 percent).
- The median Australian share fund manager outperformed the index by 0.2 percent with a return of 0.6 percent over the month. Longer-term, the median manager produced 14.4 percent over the year and 3.0 percent over the three years to 30 November 2012. The best-performing Australian share strategies over the three years to 30 November 2012 were Investors Mutual (8.6 percent), followed by Bennelong Concentrated (8.2 percent), and Dalton Nicol Reid (7.5 percent).
- International sharemarkets in Australian dollar terms were up in aggregate over the month to 30 November 2012, the MSCI World ex-Australia NR AUD Index posting an 0.7 percent return. The best-performing sectors were consumer discretionary (4.0 percent), consumer staples (2.7 percent), and information technology (2.6 percent). Utilities and energy were the worst-performing sectors with monthly returns of -2.4 and -1.5 percent respectively.
- The median international share fund manager returned 0.8 percent over the month, 12.1 percent over the year, and 2.6 percent over the three years to 30 November 2012. Magellan (12.1 percent), Fidelity (6.3 percent), and Platinum (4.8 percent) were the best performers over the three years to 30 November 2012.
- The Australian property securities sector fell -1.3 percent over the month of November 2012. The best performers over the three years to 30 November 2012 were Legg Mason (14.0 percent), followed by Zurich (13.2 percent) and APN (12.2 percent).
- The UBS Composite Bond Index returned 0.01 percent for the month and 8.4 percent over the year to 30 November 2012. Perpetual (11.6 percent), AMP (11.2 percent), and Legg Mason (11.1 percent) were in pole position among Australian fixed income strategies for the year to 30 November 2012.