The year started off strong across all major global asset classes, on the heels of a very challenging 2022.
Whilst this is good news for investors, it remains to be seen whether this is the start of a more sustained recovery in markets, or just another phase of a volatile cycle of ups and downs. Regardless, being well-diversified and patient remain our guidance for long-term investors.
Historically, a strong January result in the share market suggests the likelihood of positive returns for the calendar year. That said, many market “experts” predicted a poor start to the year.
We simply live in a very unpredictable environment when being well diversified and patient are the key behaviours that we believe serve most investors very well.
Six Park’s Essential portfolios were up from 2.3% to 3.5% in January.
The US S&P 500 was up 6.2% in January 2023, but for the twelve month period ending January 2023 the index is still down almost 10%. The ASX 200 index was also up 6.2% in January 2023.
Six Park Essential Portfolio Performance – January 2023
| Period | Conservative | Conservative Balanced | Balanced | Balanced Growth | Aggressive Growth |
| 1 month | 2.3% | 2.6% | 3.1% | 3.4% | 3.5% |
| 3 months | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| 1 year | -2.9% | -2.7% | -2.9% | -3.6% | -2.9% |
| 3 years | -0.2% | 0.6% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 2.5% |
| 5 years | 2.3% | 3.6% | 4.9% | 5.7% | 6.3% |
Notes:
(1) Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
(2) All figures are illustrative in nature based on notional $50,000 portfolios which are assumed to have been fully invested at the start of the relevant period. Your actual investment performance may vary depending on factors such as the timing of your investment with us.
(3) All figures are pre-tax but net of Six Park’s and applicable ETF fees. The results are based on closing prices for each ETF, not NAV. They assume dividend reinvestment (at month end) but do not include dividend imputation, cash holdings or annual rebalances.
(4) 1 and 3-year returns are annualised
Asset class performance – January 2023
The ASX 200 shares ETF (STW) was the top performer in January 2023. Read about Six Park’s selected ETFs.
Notes
(1) Results reflect ETF closing prices, not NAV, so may differ from those published by the ETF issuers.
(2) Results reflect asset class performance for ETFs used in Essential portfolios. Performance for sustainable ETFs is broadly in line with the results shown.
Six Park Sustainable Portfolio Performance – January 2023
In January our Sustainable portfolios performed in line with or slightly above the Essential portfolios. This is mainly due to the fact that growth stocks (mainly technology) fared well and have a slightly higher relative weighting in the Sustainable portfolios.
Note that while our Sustainable portfolios are designed to perform in line with our Essential portfolios, over time, there may be periods of relative outperformance and underperformance.
| Period | Conservative | Conservative Balanced | Balanced | Balanced Growth | Aggressive Growth |
| 1 month | 2.4% | 2.8% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 3.8% |
| 3 months | 2.1% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| 1 year | -3.6% | -3.9% | -4.8% | -5.8% | -5.5% |
Notes:
(1) Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
(2) All figures are illustrative in nature based on notional $50,000 portfolios which are assumed to have been fully invested at the start of the relevant period. Your actual investment performance may vary depending on factors such as the timing of your investment with us.
(3) All figures are pre-tax but net of Six Park’s and applicable ETF fees. The results are based on closing prices for each ETF, not NAV. They assume dividend reinvestment (at month end) but do not include dividend imputation, cash holdings or annual rebalances.
Final Comments
The strong start to 2023 will generate many headlines that span the possible reasons for great hope, to the reasons why this may just be a blip up before further market lows. Headlines can drive Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and other poor investment decisions based on emotions (“Get out now before the crash!!!”).
It is during such times that we are most vigilant in sharing a key guiding principle of our investment thesis that has stood the test of time:
We believe that the most important and impactful decisions that a long-term investor can make are to be well diversified, to keep costs low and to avoid emotional, short-term decisions (unless absolutely necessary).