Growth funds down but unlikely to suffer ‘annus horribilus’

Growth-oriented superannuation funds are on track to record their best calendar year since 2000, according toInTech Financial Servicessenior consultant, Andrew Korbel.

Korbel says the latest InTech Growth Fund Survey shows that despite the median manager returning -0.7 per cent in November, the calendar year to date median is still sitting at 5 per cent and this compares with 6.8 per cent in 2000, 3.9 per cent in 2001 and -7 per cent in 2002.

He says the results would have been better had the Australian dollar not appreciated as strongly as it had against the US dollar, resulting in unhedged international returns lagging their hedged equivalent by around 20 per cent over 2003.

However Korbel is concerned that funds may not exhibit their traditionally strong finish to the year during December.

“The current environment of tightening monetary policy, unsettled domestic consumer confidence and the uncertainty about the pace of the pick-up in international growth, could have a major influence on the outcome for December and 2003,” he says.

According to the InTech data, listed property was the best performing sector in November, returning 2.4 per cent, while international shares returned only 0.7 per cent in local currency terms, while the Australian share market was the worst-performing sector, returning -2 per cent.

The best-performing fund manager during November was Macquarie, returning -0.1 per cent, followed bySchroderswith -0.2 per cent andZurichwith -0.4 per cent.