April 2019
While providers of separately managed accounts (SMAs) benefit from high demand due to the transparency of their offering, there is a growing awareness that this comes with a greater need for more clarity and depth of reporting. Speaking at an Institute of Managed Account Professionals seminar this morning in Sydney, head of Australian equities at…
March 2019
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned 6.01% for the month of February, with Financials and Materials the top performing sectors and Consumer Staples and Utilities the weakest performers for the period. We remain defensively positioned, but will switch back into good quality cyclical stocks as we gain confidence sufficient stimulus will be provided. The portfolio…
February 2019
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned 3.87% for the month of January, with Materials and Energy the top performing sectors and Utilities and Financials the weakest performers for the period. The Australian market rebounded in January from four consecutive months of negative returns to finish 3.9% higher. The strong gains in the oil price led…
January 2019
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned -8.41% for the December quarter, with Utilities and Consumer Staples the top performing sectors and Consumer Discretionary and Energy the weakest performers for the period. The Australian market pulled back aggressively during the December quarter falling -8.41%, outperforming global indices. We ascribe the better relative performance to the fall…
December 2018
The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned -2.18% for the month of November, with Financials and Information Technology the top performing sectors and Materials and Energy the weakest performers for the period. The Australian market bucked the trend of key global markets which rose modestly during November. The reason for the divergence was our markets’ heavy…
November 2018
The Australian S&P/ASX200 index was 6.1% weaker in October, its worst performance since August 2015. Utilities and Information Technology were the top performing sectors, with Financials and Materials the weakest performers for the period. The Australian market was following the lead of global markets where we saw a general risk-off environment.This was the first material pull-back…
October 2018
QUARTER TO 30 September 2018 | The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned 1.50% for the September quarter, with Communication Services and Health Care the top performing sectors and Materials and Utilities the weakest performers for the period. The Australian S&P/ASX200 index was barely changed over the quarter, finishing at 6,207. This was against the backdrop…
September 2018
MONTH TO 31 August 2018 | The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned 1.40% for the month of August, with Healthcare and Telecommunication Services the top performing sectors and Materials and Energy the weakest performers for the period. Domestically, the economy remains in a solid growth environment with strong migration growth, some new resource/energy capex projects…
August 2018
MONTH TO 31 JULY 2018 | The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index returned 1.31% for the month of July, with Financials and Industrials the top performing sectors and Consumer Staples and Materials the weakest performers for the period. The domestic and global economies are expected to continue to provide reliable if unspectacular growth over the next…
July 2018
QUARTER TO 30 JUNE 2018 | The Australian S&P/ASX300 index delivered a solid performance of 8.5% during FY18. This was below the key US indices, but is reflective of the weight of the banks in the index which are facing headwinds. The domestic and global economies are expected to continue to provide solid, if unspectacular…