The 10-year Australian Treasury bond yield trended lower for the first half of September and then trended higher for the remainder. By the end of the month, the 3-year ACGB yield had shed 18bps to 3.36%, the 10-year had gained 3bps to 4.00% while the 20-year yield finished 7bps higher at 4.43%.
As a result, conditions facing fund managers in September remained favourable, although not to the extent it was in August. The Bloomberg Ausbond Corporate Bond Index was the best performer after it returned 0.54% for the month. The FRN Index produced the second-highest return of 0.43% while the Composite Index, representing a mix of federal, state and corporate bonds, was next with a return of 0.31%. The Semi-Government Index ranked fourth after it produced a return of 0.28% while the Treasury Index, representing Commonwealth bonds, returned 0.24%.
All bar one of the 32 funds in the YieldReport survey for this segment produced positive results and the month’s median return was 0.32%.
The Realm Strategic Income (Enduring Units) Fund produced a return of 0.93%, making it the highest returning fund for the month. The Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund was next with a return of 0.75% while the Realm High Income (Wholesale) Fund was third with a return of 0.71%.
On a 12-month basis, Realm’s High Income Fund retained the title of highest performing fund in this segment. The fund returned 11.57% while the next-highest return again came from Realm’s Strategic Income Fund with a return of 10.65%. The Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund retained third place after it produced a 12-month return of 9.24%.
| FUND NAME | ASX mFund | 1m (%) | 3m (%) | 1y (%) | 3y (%) | 5y (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advance Aus Fixed Intr Multi-Blend | 0.25 | 2.96 | 7.24 | -1.96 | -1.05 | |
| AMP Capital Corporate Bond | ACA02 | -0.03 | 1.15 | 5.24 | 2.49 | 2.43 |
| Alexander Credit Opportunities | 0.75 | 2.36 | 9.24 | 7.07 | 5.96 | |
| AMP Flex Lifetime S2-AMP Australian Bond | 0.22 | 2.87 | 6.84 | -1.91 | -0.95 | |
| AMP Generations BlackRock Aust Fixed Interest Index | 0.26 | 2.88 | 6.51 | -1.93 | -1.28 | |
| Altius Sustainable Bond | 0.39 | 2.30 | 6.64 | 1.45 | 0.89 | |
| Artesian Corporate Bond | 0.58 | 1.88 | 7.91 | 3.64 | 3.13 | |
| Pendal Enhanced Credit (Wholesale) | 0.45 | 2.88 | 7.77 | 0.77 | 1.28 | |
| Pendal Fixed Interest (Wholesale) | 0.32 | 3.22 | 7.34 | -1.18 | -0.37 | |
| Pendal Government Bond | 0.24 | 3.20 | 7.28 | -1.31 | -0.47 | |
| CFS Aberdeen Australian Fixed Interest | 0.28 | 2.94 | 6.81 | -1.43 | -0.63 | |
| CFS Wholesale Australian Bond | 0.37 | 1.20 | 4.53 | 2.21 | 1.50 | |
| DDH Fixed Interest | 0.31 | 3.10 | 7.47 | -1.21 | -0.26 | |
| Spectrum Strategic Income | SPE01 | 0.45 | 1.58 | 6.56 | 3.59 | 2.84 |
| Jamieson Coote Bonds Active | 0.19 | 2.93 | 6.59 | -2.08 | -1.13 | |
| Legg Mason Western Asset Australian Bond | LMA04 | 0.34 | 3.26 | 7.96 | -1.01 | -0.19 |
| Macquarie Australian Fixed Interest | 0.29 | 3.03 | 7.58 | -0.95 | -0.13 | |
| Mercer Australian Sovereign Bond | 0.25 | 2.93 | 6.84 | -1.89 | -1.11 | |
| MLC Wholesale Horizon 1 Bond Portfolio | 0.63 | 2.57 | 7.99 | 2.87 | 2.11 | |
| Yarra Australian Bond | 0.28 | 3.66 | 7.85 | -0.90 | -0.14 | |
| Henderson Australian Fixed Interest (Inst) | 0.33 | 3.54 | 8.51 | -1.09 | 0.22 | |
| Henderson Tactical Income | 0.39 | 2.28 | 6.87 | 2.94 | 2.72 | |
| Perpetual WFIA-Schroder Fixed Income | 0.54 | 3.42 | 8.45 | -1.54 | -0.46 | |
| Perpetual WFIA-Vanguard Aust Fixed Interest Index | 0.30 | 2.96 | 6.75 | -1.52 | -0.96 | |
| PIMCO Australian Bond (Wholesale) | PMF04 | 0.31 | 3.09 | 7.81 | -1.08 | -0.26 |
| PIMCO Australian Focus (Wholesale) | PMF05 | 0.41 | 1.97 | 7.06 | 0.81 | 0.87 |
| Realm High Income (Wholesale) | 0.71 | 2.23 | 11.57 | 6.15 | 5.44 | |
| Realm Strategic Income - Enduring Units | 0.93 | 2.50 | 10.65 | 8.41 | n/a | |
| SSgA Australian Fixed Income | 0.28 | 2.98 | 7.13 | -1.30 | -0.53 | |
| UBS Australian Bond | 0.49 | 4.04 | 9.01 | -0.76 | -0.20 | |
| Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index | UAM04 | 0.30 | 3.06 | 7.03 | -1.34 | -0.57 |
| Vanguard Australian Govt Bond Index | 0.25 | 3.00 | 6.80 | -1.82 | -0.96 | |
| Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+YR AUD | 0.31 | 3.02 | 7.11 | -1.19 | -0.40 |
*End of September 2024. Return in AUD after fees