by David Blumenthal 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, and do not assume dividend reinvestment.
• October was a poor month across all markets.
• Australian shares fell -2.2%, hampered by US election uncertainty and declines across healthcare and industrial stocks. Domestic bonds were also down -1.4% on the back of inflation concerns.
• Australian listed property had a particularly weak month, dropping -7.6%. The sector is now down 13.9% for the last 3 months (but still up +6.3% for the year) as the prospect of interest rate rises (which makes bonds more attractive) and property valuation concerns have reduced the sector’s appeal as a defensive, high-yield play
• International shares fell -0.8% during the month, with larger declines in US stocks partly offset by gains in European and Japanese markets.
• Emerging markets were relatively subdued, advancing 1% on the back of generally stable political and economic developments.
• Overall, the Six Park portfolios outperformed the ASX200 index in October but were still down between -1.2% to -2.0% for the month as a result of prevailing market weakness. The portfolios remain up +1% to +2.5% on a rolling 12-month basis.