Performance not the be-all and end-all

The winners of the 2011 S&P Fund Awards, in association with Professional Planner, will be announced this Friday, amid unprecedented market volatility. The current environment underlines the fact that a manager’s performance may be affected by circumstances out of its control, and that investors need to focus on the things that can be controlled when assessing the worthiness of a particular manager.

Periods of underperformance are inevitable for fund managers, both relative to the market and to their peers, and investors in general should understand that while evidence of good past returns is appealing, it can not guarantee the same positive results year after year.

A fund manager’s team itself, its resources, disciplined process, implementation and risk management also play a very significant role. A fund manager’s performance should ultimately reflect quality in all these areas. The S&P Fund Awards look past recent performance to analyse the quality of the manager’s underlying operations and processes.

  SECTOR FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)  Australian Fixed Interest • AMP Capital Investors • BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) – (Indexed) • Colonial First State Global Asset Management • PIMCO Australia (Equity Trustees) • Tyndall Investment Management Global Fixed Interest (including Diversified) • Bentham Asset Management • BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) – (Indexed) • Macquarie Investment Management • PIMCO Australia (Equity Trustees) • Schroder Investment Management Australia  Property • AEW Capital Management (BT) • AMP Capital Brookfield • CBRE Clarion Securities  Alternative Equity Strategies • Ascalon / Regal Funds Management • Colonial First State Investments • K2 Asset Management • Platinum Asset Management  Alternative Diversified Strategies • AQR Capital Management • Aurora/ Barclays Capital Fund Solutions • BlackRock Investment Management (AUS) • Winton (Macquarie Professional Series) Australian Equities – Large-Cap • FIL Investment Management  (Australia) • Greencape Capital (Challenger Managed Investments) • Perennial Value Management (Perennial Investment Partners) • Schroder Investment Management Australia • Tyndall Investment Management  Australian Equities – Small-Cap • Aviva Investors Australia • Celeste Funds Management • Eley Griffiths Group • Fairview Equity Partners (nabInvest) • Invesco Australia  Global Equities – Developed Markets • Arrowstreet Capital (Macquarie Professional Series) • Grant Samuel (Epoch Investment Partners) • Independent Franchise Partners (Macquarie Professional Series) • Platinum Asset Management • Walter Scott (Macquarie Professional Series) Global Equities – Emerging Markets • Aberdeen Asset Management • BT Investment Management (MFS International (U.K)) • Colonial First State Global Asset Management • Schroder Investment Management Australia Multi-Sector • Advance Asset Management • BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) (Scientific) • BT Investment Management (Macro Strategy) • Perpetual Investments • Schroder Investment Management Australia GROUP FINALISTS (in alphabetical order) Product Distributor of the Year • Challenger Managed Investments • Equity Trustees • Macquarie Professional Series • Pinnacle Investment Management • Zurich Investment Management Fund Manager of the Year • BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) • Colonial First State Global Asset Management • PIMCO Australia (Equity Trustees) • Schroder Investment Management Australia • Winton (Macquarie Professional Series) The awards will be announced at a business luncheon at The Ivy, Sydney, on Friday October 14, 2011. For enquiries about the event please contact Sean Scallan at Conexus Financial on (02) 9227 5719 or via email at sean.scallan@conexusfinancial.com.au.