The 10-year Australian Treasury bond yield trended higher through the entirety of October. By the end of the month, the 3-year ACGB yield had jumped 65bps to 4.01%, the 10-year had gained 52bps to 4.52% while the 20-year yield finished 42bps higher at 4.85%.
As a result, conditions facing fund managers in October contrasted greatly with those of the previous two months. The Bloomberg Ausbond FRN Index was the best performer after it returned 0.50% for the month. The Corporate Bond Index produced the second-highest return of -0.88% while the Composite Index, representing a mix of federal, state and corporate bonds, was next with a return of -1.88%. The Treasury Index, representing Commonwealth bonds, ranked fourth after it produced a return of -2.06% while the Semi-Government Index returned -2.14%.
Eight of the 32 funds in the YieldReport survey for this segment produced positive results and the month’s median return was -1.89%.
The Realm High Income (Wholesale) Fund produced a return of 0.86%, making it the highest returning fund for the month. Realm’s Strategic Income (Enduring Units) Fund and the Altius Sustainable Bond Fund tied for second after they both returned 0.81%.
On a 12-month basis, Realm’s High Income Fund retained the title of highest performing fund in this segment. The fund returned 12.63% while the next-highest return again came from Realm’s Strategic Income Fund with a return of 10.58%. 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 | -2.00 | -0.58 | 7.14 | -1.38 | -1.33 | |
| AMP Capital Corporate Bond | ACA02 | -0.08 | 0.46 | 4.81 | 2.61 | 2.39 |
| Alexander Credit Opportunities | 0.71 | 2.32 | 9.24 | 7.20 | 6.04 | |
| AMP Flex Lifetime S2-AMP Australian Bond | -2.01 | -0.60 | 6.66 | -1.42 | -1.23 | |
| AMP Generations BlackRock Aust Fixed Interest Index | -1.92 | -0.53 | 6.47 | -1.36 | -1.55 | |
| Altius Sustainable Bond | 0.81 | 0.38 | 6.71 | 1.77 | 0.75 | |
| Artesian Corporate Bond | 0.56 | 1.51 | 8.35 | 4.04 | 3.21 | |
| Pendal Enhanced Credit (Wholesale) | -0.80 | 0.54 | 7.58 | 1.43 | 1.18 | |
| Pendal Fixed Interest (Wholesale) | -1.88 | -0.29 | 7.31 | -0.59 | -0.64 | |
| Pendal Government Bond | -2.16 | -0.58 | 7.15 | -0.81 | -0.81 | |
| CFS Aberdeen Australian Fixed Interest | -1.90 | -0.46 | 6.76 | -0.86 | -0.91 | |
| CFS Wholesale Australian Bond | 0.38 | 1.14 | 4.61 | 2.44 | 1.56 | |
| DDH Fixed Interest | -1.89 | -0.44 | 7.31 | -0.65 | -0.54 | |
| Spectrum Strategic Income | SPE01 | 0.60 | 1.58 | 6.84 | 3.87 | 2.98 |
| Jamieson Coote Bonds Active | -2.43 | -1.14 | 5.92 | -1.51 | -1.49 | |
| Legg Mason Western Asset Australian Bond | LMA04 | -1.92 | -0.36 | 8.16 | -0.43 | -0.48 |
| Macquarie Australian Fixed Interest | -1.93 | -0.43 | 7.50 | -0.24 | -0.43 | |
| Mercer Australian Sovereign Bond | -2.20 | -0.87 | 6.46 | -1.33 | -1.42 | |
| MLC Wholesale Horizon 1 Bond Portfolio | 0.06 | 1.68 | 7.99 | 3.04 | 2.10 | |
| Yarra Australian Bond | -1.96 | -0.28 | 7.97 | -0.35 | -0.46 | |
| Henderson Australian Fixed Interest (Inst) | -2.09 | -0.40 | 8.52 | -0.45 | -0.11 | |
| Henderson Tactical Income | -0.33 | 0.89 | 6.90 | 3.01 | 2.63 | |
| Perpetual WFIA-Schroder Fixed Income | -2.06 | -0.40 | 8.29 | -0.93 | -0.75 | |
| Perpetual WFIA-Vanguard Aust Fixed Interest Index | -1.89 | -0.45 | 6.68 | -0.98 | -1.24 | |
| PIMCO Australian Bond (Wholesale) | PMF04 | -1.84 | -0.37 | 8.00 | -0.49 | -0.56 |
| PIMCO Australian Focus (Wholesale) | PMF05 | -1.18 | -0.16 | 6.71 | 1.02 | 0.67 |
| Realm High Income (Wholesale) | 0.86 | 2.23 | 12.63 | 6.67 | 5.56 | |
| Realm Strategic Income - Enduring Units | 0.81 | 2.56 | 10.58 | 8.52 | n/a | |
| SSgA Australian Fixed Income | -1.89 | -0.43 | 7.07 | -0.73 | -0.81 | |
| UBS Australian Bond | -2.33 | -0.40 | 8.67 | -0.29 | -0.58 | |
| Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index | UAM04 | -1.90 | -0.43 | 6.94 | -0.79 | -0.87 |
| Vanguard Australian Govt Bond Index | -2.12 | -0.64 | 6.78 | -1.27 | -1.27 | |
| Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+YR AUD | -1.88 | -0.39 | 7.08 | -0.62 | -0.68 |
*End of October 2024. Return in AUD after fees