by David Blumenthal The Six Park portfolios added between +1.9% and +3.7% in March, with our higher risk offerings benefiting most as equity markets continued to rebound.
Our rolling 12-month returns now stand at +8.6% to +26.3%, one of our best performance windows since launching. This is a stark contrast to 12-months ago when the pandemic crisis precipitated one of the sharpest market sell-offs in history. At the time, we told clients: “Investors who are able to hold their nerve during difficult periods like these are usually rewarded over the longer term.” The strong recovery in our portfolios since that period is testament to this approach.
Significantly, our three-year returns are now +3.5% to 9.3% per annum. This equates to a gross gain of 10.8% to 30.5% over the period, after fees and including the full impact of last year’s pandemic decline in February/March. These figures would have placed Six Park in the top 10% of all equivalent risk profile multi-asset managed funds tracked by Morningstar, underscoring the benefits of our service.
Six Park Portfolio Performance – March 2021
| Period | Conservative | Conservative Balanced | Balanced | Balanced Growth | Aggressive Growth |
| 1 month | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 3.7% |
| 3 months | 1.1% | 1.8% | 2.9% | 3.7% | 4.7% |
| 1 year | 8.6% | 12.7% | 18.6% | 22.3% | 26.3% |
| 3 years | 3.5% | 5.4% | 7.3% | 8.7% | 9.3% |
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
Global markets continued their upward charge in March, with unhedged international equities surging almost +6% over the month. US equities were particularly strong, boosted by progress on the Biden administration’s spending plans and COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Unhedged international shares and global property were the best performing asset classes in March, rising +5.8% for the month. Returns on hedged global equities were slightly lower (+3.7%) but have been stellar over the year, up a massive +47.6% on the back of the rally in equity markets since the Feb/March selloff last year. Emerging markets and cash yield were the weakest asset classes in March, both closing flat for the month (+0.03%).
Read more 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.
Unhedged International equities surged +5.8% in March, taking their rolling 12-month gain to +24.4%. US stocks led the way, buoyed by the Biden administrations extensive fiscal and infrastructure spending plans, a stabilisation in bond yields and further progress in the country’s vaccine rollout. European and Japanese equities were volatile, falling on initial concerns of supply chain disruptions following Suez Canal ship blockage before rising on better-than-expected corporate earnings and economic data. Hedged equities lagged slightly in March but still registered strong gains for the month (up +3.7%) and an impressive 47.6% return on a rolling 12-month basis. Hedged equities avoided the drag of the strengthening AUD, which has appreciated 23% against the USD since March last year.
Global property returns also advanced +5.8% in March. US real estate stocks were the main driver, benefiting from a resurgence in investor confidence and expectations of a return to a more “normal” business environment later this year. A 3% decline in the AUD provided a further tailwind for returns in local currency terms.
Infrastructure was another strong performer, returning +5.6% for the month and almost +18% over the last year. Electricity providers, pipelines and multi-utilities (which collectively represent 52% of our chosen ETF) were the main contributors, posting monthly gains of 10-14% on optimism surrounding the Biden administrations US$2.25 trillion infrastructure plan.
Australian shares once again trailed their global equity counterparts but ended the month up +2.4%. This marked the 6th consecutive month of positive returns for the ASX200. 15 out of the market’s subsectors registered gains in March, led by retailing (+8.2%) which was boosted by stronger than expected consumer spending and employment figures.
Fixed income rose +0.6% across March. After falling sharply last month, bond prices stabilised, with yields falling back following the RBA’s signalling that it tended to keep its expansionary policies in place for some time yet.
Emerging markets were essentially flat (+0.03%). The sector was dragged down by weakness across Chinese stocks (43% of our chosen ETF) which fell on fears that the local regulators would begin raising interest rates and reining in riskier lending activities. Brazilian shares were also down on news of renewed lockdown restrictions in several provinces.
Returns on our cash yield ETF remained muted (+0.03%) for the month reflecting the ongoing low-interest rate environment.