by David Blumenthal When the renowned poet T.S. Eliot declared “April is the cruellest month”, he clearly wasn’t referring to the financial markets of April 2017.
Last month, we saw all asset classes deliver positive returns, with international shares, emerging markets, global property and infrastructure all advancing by +3.5% or more.
These gains saw the Six Park Portfolios gain between +0.9% to +2.8% for April and +2.1% to +6.8% for the quarter. On a rolling 12-month basis, our portfolios have now delivered returns of +4.2% to +14.4%.
| PERIOD | CONSERVATIVE | CONSERVATIVE BALANCED | BALANCED | BALANCED GROWTH | AGGRESSIVE GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mth | 0.9% | 1.4% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.8% |
| 3 mth | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4.9% | 6.0% | 6.8% |
| 1 year | 4.2% | 7.0% | 10.1% | 12.2% | 14.4% |
Notes
(1) Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
(2) No rebalancing, cash holdings or trading costs “Six Park does not charge brokerage costs to its clients” are included. The calculations are based on the published closing prices for each ETF, not NAV. They assume dividend reinvestment.
THE CALCULATIONS ARE BASED ON THE CLOSING PRICES FOR EACH ETF, NOT NAV, SO MAY DIFFER FROM THE RETURNS PUBLISHED BY THE ETF ISSUERS.
International shares surged +4.3% during April, a combination of market gains across US, Europe and Japan and a 2.2% decline in the AUD against the US dollar (which boosted the value of overseas shares in local currency terms). In the US, the S&P500 was up 1%, buoyed by better than expected corporate earnings. In Europe, the FTSE All-Share index gained 1.2%, boosted by positive sentiment following Macron’s victory in the first round of the French presidential elections.
Global listed property and global infrastructure stocks gained +3.9% and 3.5% for the month, with rising geopolitical tensions in Korea helping to drive renewed investor demand for defensive assets. The 2.2% decline in the AUD aided returns too.
Emerging market equities were also up strongly, rising +3.8% for the month. This was largely driven by ongoing positive economic data from China, further evidence of a continued recovery in global economic growth and the decline in the AUD.
The Australian sharemarket was up +1% for the month, with strong gains in the services, financials and health sectors offset by sharp declines in telecommunications shares (particularly Telstra). Telecommunications stocks were down on fears of heightened competition following TPG’s entry into the mobile phone market.
Returns across our bond and bank deposit ETFs were again slightly positive, rising +0.5% and +0.2% respectively, reflecting the prevailing low interest rate environment.