The median Australian share manager returned four per cent and stayed ahead of the S&P ASX 300 index’s return of 3.9 per cent in January, according to Morningstar Australian Institutional Sector Survey.
At the same time, longer-term annualised returns from the median manager were 0.2 per cent during the trailing one year, with the best -performing Australian share strategies being Hyperion (7.3 per cent), CFS Concentrated Growth (6.9 per cent) and CFS Growth (6.5 per cent).
Global share strategies were also ahead of Australian shares for the year to 31, January, 2018, with longer-term median results standing at 10.7 per cent during the trailing three years, 11.2 per cent during the five years and 10.4 per cent during the 10 years to 31 January 2018.
Hyperion (21.2 per cent), Magellan (12.2 per cent) and Nikko (10.4 per cent) were the best-performing global share funds for the year.
Following this, the median Australian property securities manager returned 12.9 per cent for the year and fell marginally behind the index return, Morningstar said.
Across this category, the best-performers were AMP (16.5 per cent), Macquarie (16.5 per cent) and UBS (14.2 per cent).
Growth Australian share strategies were ahead of their value counterparts during the year, with the S&P Australian BMII Growth Index returning 2.5 per cent compared with the S&P Australia BMI Value Index’s 0.9 per cent, the study found.
As far as the sectors were concerned, energy (11.4 per cent) was the best-performing sector of the Australian share market in January and was followed by resources (9.1 per cent) and information technology (8.8 per cent).
On the other hand, the sectors which delivered the weakest performance during that time were financials (negative 0.2 per cent), industrials (2.6 per cent) and consumer staples (2.7 per cent).
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has said the central bank sees private demand picking up over the next year, taking over from public demand.
One of Australia’s largest super funds has acquired an equity stake in the institutional investment advisory firm.
Passive investing is reshaping Australian equities, giving rise to a “no information trade” in which large-cap stocks swing sharply despite little or no fresh news.
RBA governor Michele Bullock warns of global trade risks as domestic inflation cools and employment remains near full capacity.