Slow start to the year

More than half of fund managers with Australian equities teams have had a start to the millennium they would probably prefer to forget.

More than half of fund managers with Australian equities teams have had a start to the millennium they would probably prefer to forget.

Only 25 of the 59 Australian equities managers researched by Intech have produced positive returns for the first three months of the year. Some of the biggest names in funds management have recorded negative returns, including value managers Mac-quarie and Tyndall who have both lost nearly 10 per cent in the three months to March 31. The All Ordinaries posted a 0.34 per cent rise over the same period, outper-forming 40 of the 59 funds surveyed.

While their returns have not been spectacular, BNP, Colonial First State and HSBC have weathered the volatile stock market to produce returns exceeding 4.5 per cent for the three months.

The news for those advisers focusing their client’s attentions on international equities is much brighter. All 57 funds surveyed by Intech produced positive returns for the three months to March 31. Alliance Capital topped the returns table, returning 17.5 per cent, while Dresdner and Marvin & Palmer returned very respectable returns of more than 15 per cent. The MSCI World index rose 9 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Fixed interest managers have also had a better start to the year than Australian equi-ties managers.

Rothschild remains at the top of the heap returning just over 4 per cent for the three months, according to Intech.