International and growth rebound
International shares are on the rebound and growth managers have come back against value managers, according to the OctoberInTechGrowth Funds Performance Survey.
The survey has shown that international shares bounced back from the lows they experienced in September, with markets in Europe, the UK and the US experiencing gains of between eight and 11 per cent.
InTech Financial Services, who conducted the survey, has tentatively claimed the figures give hope of a some recovery in returns for the 2002-2003 period.
"While there is evidence of a rebound for international shares, it is not clear whether the rally will prove to be sustainable,” InTech Financial Services portfolio manager Chris Thompson says.
The InTech survey also claims that growth managers have outdone value managers over the October period.
"October saw a reversal in investment trends, in both style and market cap indices," Thompson says.
"What we saw was contrary to the pattern over the last 12 months, with the Macquarie Growth Index outperforming the Macquarie Value Index and the 50 leaders Index out-performing mid and small caps," he says.
The top performing managers identified by InTech for October wereBarclays Global Investors (BGI)at 4.5 per cent, followed byMerrill Lynchat 3.5 per cent and Invesco at 3 per cent.
InTech claims the listing of well known value managers such as Maple-Brown Abbott and Tyndall well down the list reflected the changed investment environment.
The Australian share market did not experience as big a rise over the October period, while Australian bond markets ended a volatile month flat according to InTech.
Despite a median growth fund return of 2.2 per cent for October in Australia, the median fund is still down 3.2 per cent for the first four months of the 2002-2003 financial year.
InTech attributes the rise in the US market to a good round of earnings reports, allowing investors to shrug off further negative economic data and look forward to the prospect of the US Federal Reserve lowering interest rates in early November.
The exception in positive international share performance was the Japanese market, which fell 6 per cent as a result of worries over deflation.
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