Century Funds Management inflows soar

Direct property boutique Century Funds Management has posted a 16.1 per cent return (annualised over five years) for the half year to March 31, a performance also reflected in strong inflows to its newly launched Century Balanced Fund No 1.

The result compares to (an annualised) 11.34 per cent for the corresponding period by the Mercer Unlisted Property index, or, as Century managing director John McBain puts it, an average outperformance of more than 500 basis points each year for five years.

Century, which specialises in total return-focused commercial property investments, also reported a 19 per cent increase in funds under management (FUM) to $440 million as at March 31, compared with $370 million at March 31, last year.

The open-ended Century Balanced Fund No 1 has attracted more than $80 million in FUM since its launch late last year, which McBain attributed to the strength of the manager’s overall performance.

“I think registering more than 16.5 per cent at each of the one, three and five year performance marks demonstrates the high total returns and low volatility that is at the core of our investment strategy.”