Fund manager of the year – Multi-sector trusts

1st: Colonial First State

2nd: Commonwealth Financial Services

3rd: State Super Financial Services

Colonial's dominance of this sector, as with its first place award in allocated pensions and annuities and its second place in superannuation, is due to the strength of its equity team.

Like balanced funds in other award categories, outperformance in equities was the key to success for the balanced funds that dominate the category of multi-sector funds. And once again, the investment philosophy of Colonial First State, headed by CEO Chris Cuffe, proved the winner, according to ASSIRT research manager Patrick Bennett.

Colonial First State also has an impressive track record in the multi-sector category, having placed second in the 1997 awards behind Mercantile Mutual, with Bankers Trust in third place.

Top of the Colonial class in this sector in 1998 was its $245 million Colonial First State Diversified Fund, which ASSIRT defines as a Multi-sector 70 fund, meaning that between 50 and 70 per cent of the fund's portfolio is held in equities. Colonial First State's $81 million Balanced Fund, a Multi-sector 50 fund (between 30 and 50 per cent equities), also performed strongly.

Second-placed Commonwealth Financial Services is a new entrant in many award categories this year, but like other banks is quickly making inroads. Its $168 million Commonwealth Growth Fund, a Multi-sector 70 fund as classed by ASSIRT, was its best performing product.

State Super had just one product in this category, its $119 million State Super Balanced Investment Fund, but that fund's performance was good enough to give State Super third place.