by David Blumenthal Although the Australian sharemarket fell -2.8% during May, the Six Park portfolios posted gains of between +0.3% to +0.5% for the month. This result highlights the benefits of our diversified portfolios which are spread across global markets and multiple asset classes.
On a rolling 12-month basis, our portfolios have now delivered returns of +3.3% to +10.3%.
| PERIOD | CONSERVATIVE | CONSERVATIVE BALANCED | BALANCED | BALANCED GROWTH | AGGRESSIVE GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mth | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| 3 mth | 1.9% | 2.7% | 3.6% | 4.5% | 4.9% |
| 1 year | 3.3% | 5.0% | 7.3% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
Notes
(1) Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
(2) No rebalancing, cash holdings or trading costs are included. The calculations are based on the published closing prices for each ETF, not NAV. They assume dividend reinvestment.
Global shares (across both developed and emerging markets) and infrastructure were the strongest performing asset classes for the month.
Emerging market equities were up +2.6% in May. Key drivers were Chinese shares, which benefited from the country’s central banks unexpected injection of US$25 billion into the local banks, and Indian equities, which gained on expectations that government reforms would strengthen growth. Our emerging market ETF (VGE.AX) is now up almost 20% for the year.
Infrastructure stocks gained +2.4% for the month, aided by positive rhetoric from the Trump administration in relation to its infrastructure spending plans. Announcements of new infrastructure spending in Canada (pipelines) and Australia (second Sydney airport plans) also helped boost sector confidence.
International shares were up +2.1%, reflecting gains across US, Japanese and European markets. US, UK and Japanese stocks were boosted by better than expected economic data while European shares advanced on solid corporate earnings and receding political risks in France.
Returns across our fixed income and bank deposit ETFs were positive but subdued, rising +1.3% and +0.2% respectively, reflecting the prevailing low interest rate environment.
Global listed property was flat for the month, with falls across US and UK markets offset by gains in Europe and japan.
The Australian sharemarket was down -2.8% for the month, its worst monthly return in over 15 months. A key catalyst behind the fall was the announcement of a new Federal Government bank levy, which drove the banking sector down by over -11%.