Managed Funds

The 10-year Australian Treasury bond yield went sideways in the early days of March before dropping away through to the middle of the month. It then completely retraced over the space of a few days only to slide back down close to the low for the month over the next two weeks. By the end of March, the 3-year ACGB yield had lost 13bps to 3.57%, the 10-year yield had shed 15bps to 4.00% while the 20-year finished 16bps lower at 4.28%.

As a result, conditions facing fund managers improved considerably. The Bloomberg Ausbond Semi-Government Index was the best performer after it returned 1.23% for the month. The Treasury Index, representing Commonwealth bonds, produced the second-highest return of 1.15%, while the Composite Index, representing a mix of federal, state and corporate bonds, was next with a return of 1.12%. The Corporate Bond Index returned 0.90% while the FRN Index returned 0.50%.

All 31 funds in the YieldReport survey produced positive results and the month’s median return was 1.10%.

The UBS Australian Bond Fund produced a return of 1.35%, making it the highest returning fund for the month. The Perpetual WFIA-Schroder Fixed Income Fund was next with a return of 1.26% while Henderson Australian Fixed Interest (Institutional) Fund was just behind it with a return of 1.25%.

On a 12-month basis, Realm’s Strategic Income (Enduring Units) Fund retained the title of highest performing fund. The fund returned 11.28% while the next highest return again came from Realm High Income (Wholesale) Fund with a return of 10.60%. The Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund retained third place after it produced a 12-month return of 8.71%.

AUSTRALIAN FIXED INTEREST	ASX mFund	1m (%)	3m (%)	1y (%)	3y (%)	5y (%)
Advance Aus Fixed Intr Multi-Blend		1.12	1.00	1.25	-2.06	-0.58
AMP Capital Corporate Bond	ACA02	0.08	1.18	4.69	1.92	2.27
Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund		0.76	2.38	8.71	6.44	5.56
AMP Flex Lifetime S2-AMP Australian Bond		1.07	0.94	1.18	-1.93	-0.38
AMP Generations BlackRock Aust Fixed Interest Index		1.08	0.91	0.98	-2.12	-0.79
Altius Sustainable Bond Fund		0.88	1.28	4.04	0.79	0.85
Artesian Corporate Bond Fund		0.71	1.82	7.61	2.82	2.97
Pendal Enhanced Credit (Wholesale)		0.87	1.39	4.56	0.15	1.50
Pendal Fixed Interest (Wholesale)		1.07	0.99	1.53	-1.31	0.29
Pendal Government Bond		1.17	1.05	1.38	-1.25	0.26
CFS Aberdeen Australian Fixed Interest		1.24	1.16	1.97	-1.54	-0.27
CFS Wholesale Australian Bond		1.25	1.00	1.75	-1.44	0.29
DDH Fixed Interest		1.12	1.05	1.80	-1.40	0.28
Spectrum Strategic Income	SPE01	0.55	1.51	6.24	2.82	2.69
Jamieson Coote Bonds Active		1.10	0.78	0.10	-2.02	-0.36
Legg Mason Western Asset Australian Bond Trust	LMA04	1.21	1.15	2.20	-1.19	0.35
Macquarie Australian Fixed Interest		1.16	1.12	1.97	-1.02	0.46
Mercer Australian Sovereign Bond Fund		1.15	0.91	0.12	-1.82	-0.29
Nikko AM Australian Bond		1.09	1.00	2.03	-1.06	0.41
Henderson Australian Fixed Interest (Inst)		1.25	1.23	2.74	-1.08	0.64
Henderson Tactical Income		0.68	1.36	6.67	2.22	2.46
Perpetual WFIA-Schroder Fixed Income		1.26	1.25	1.85	-1.85	-0.07
Perpetual WFIA-Vanguard Aust Fixed Interest Index		1.09	0.96	1.20	-1.63	-0.51
PIMCO Australian Bond (Wholesale)	PMF04	1.23	1.29	2.41	-1.27	0.25
PIMCO Australian Focus (Wholesale)	PMF05	0.93	1.29	3.85	0.14	1.02
Realm High Income (Wholesale)		1.12	3.12	11.28	5.45	5.24
Realm Strategic Income - Enduring Units		0.99	2.77	10.60	7.66	n/a
SSgA Australian Fixed Income		1.12	1.01	1.49	-1.42	0.04
UBS Australian Bond Fund		1.35	0.81	2.29	-1.15	0.20
Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index	UAM04	1.09	0.98	1.34	-1.46	-0.03
Vanguard Australian Govt Bond Index		1.14	0.91	0.68	-1.81	-0.28
Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+YR AUD		1.12	4.05	4.68	-1.03	0.53

^{*End of March 2024. Return in AUD after fees}