The heavier exposure of industry funds to unlisted assets has again seen them outperform their retail counterparts during the March quarter, according to the latest data from Chant West.
The data pointed to industry funds returning -0.6 per cent, compared to a -1.6 per cent result on the part of retail funds.
Chant West principal, Warren Chant attributed the outperformance to the industry funds' higher allocations to unlisted assets such as unlisted infrastructure, unlisted property, and private equity which had outperformed listed markets over the period.
"Australian and international share markets, which are down 9.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively, over the past year, are marked to market. However, unlisted assets are valued infrequently with their valuations typically lagging listed markets by six to nine months," the Chant West analysis said.
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