By Craig Simpson
Between them, ANZ, Mercer and Milford dominate the top places in the various sector rankings for the period ending September 30.
ANZ and Milford dominate the multi-sector areas while Mercer shows their skills in single sector funds.
Overall the results show those funds with a bias towards growth assets such as shares have performed considerably better than those with higher concentration of cash and fixed income securities.
These returns reflects both the improved global equity market situtation and the more recent events which have resulted in rising interest rates and capital losses (on paper) for fixed income investors
All of the KiwiSaver managers who are required to file their quarterly disclosure statements have done so however these are not the easiest things to find as many managers have decided to bury them in the depths of their websites rather than promote them on their respective website home pages. In a competitive market which is moving towards greater transparency I did not expect to have to rabbit around site maps and dark alleys to find the documents.
We have collated data from many of the managers who have reported thus far and have retained our methodology of using before tax and after fee returns and made one further adjustment for an estimate of 'outside fund fees' (member fees and other expenses). This will provide different results to what many research houses or commentators may be reporting and provides what we think is a better assessment of the before tax returns.
Why have we not based our performance tables on the new net of tax and fee numbers reported in quarterly disclosure statements?
Simply, the data being reported is for discrete one year periods and is so out of date (as at March 31 each year) so in my opinion analysis of these out-of-date data is meaningless to investors.
The only 'current' performance data being reported is for the past quarter and 12 months which is too short of a timeframe to provide any meaningful analysis or commentary for readers.
Although the return information is not overly useful, other data covering key people, asset allocations and top 10 positions is well worth examining and will provide some insights into what is driving some of the performance numbers. I believe the new reporting format is a step in the right direction but still has some way to go before it will become a hot topic for cab drivers and neighbours at barbeques.
The following tables outline the top 3 performers on a adjusted basis over the past three, two and one years for each of the main categories. To save readers from the same frustrations we encountered, a link to the periodic disclosure forms is included in the table.
Can't see your fund? You can review the full ranking tables by clicking here.
| Default | 3yr | 2yr | 1yr | Periodic Disclosure Statement |
| ANZ OnePath Conservative | 5.8 | 4.9 |
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| Mercer Conservative | 5.5 | 6.7 | 6.4 |
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| ASB Conservative | 4.8 | 4.6 |
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| Sector average (of funds reported) | 5.0 | 5.8 | 4.8 |
Based on our performance rankings and return calculation methodology the worst performing Default fund in this sector is the Tower Cash Enhanced Fund
| Conservative | 3yr | 2yr | 1yr | Periodic Disclosure Statement |
| Westpac Capital Protection Plan 1 | 9.6 | 15.8 | 19.7 |
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| Westpac Capital Protection Plan 2 | 9.6 | 15.8 | 19.7 |
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| ANZ OnePath Conservative | 5.8 | 4.9 |
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| Sector average (of funds reported) | 5.4 | 7.5 | 7.0 |
Based on our performance rankings and return calculation methodology the worst performing Conservative funds in this sector are the Grosvenor Enhanced Income Fund and Tower Preservation Fund
| Moderate | 3yr | 2yr | 1yr | Periodic Disclosure Statement |
| ANZ Conservative Balanced | 7.5 | 9.1 |
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| ANZ OneAnswer Conservative Balanced | 7.5 | 9.0 |
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| Aon Russell Lifepoints 2015 | 7.0 | 9.5 | 7.1 |
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| Sector average (of funds reported) | 5.9 | 7.1 | 6.3 |
Based on our performance rankings and return calculation methodology the worst performing Moderate fund in this sector is the Craig's IP Conservative Fund
| Balanced | 3yr | 2yr | 1yr | Periodic Disclosure Statement |
| Milford Balanced | 10.5 | 15.5 | 16.0 |
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| ANZ OneAnswer Balanced | 9.0 | 12.6 |
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| ANZ Balanced | 9.0 | 12.6 |
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| Sector average (of funds reported) | 7.2 | 11.1 | 10.3 |
Based on our performance rankings and return calculation methodology the worst performing Balanced fund in this sector is the Grosvenor Balanced Fund
| Growth | 3yr | 2yr | 1yr | Periodic Disclosure Statement |
| ANZ OneAnswer Balanced Growth Fund | 10.5 | 16.2 |
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| ANZ Balanced Growth | 10.5 | 16.2 |
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| AMP ANZ OnePath Balanced | 10.3 | 14.5 | 15.0 |
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| Sector average (of funds reported) | 7.3 | 11.4 | 12.1 |
Based on our performance rankings and return calculation methodology the worst performing Growth fund in this sector is the Law Retirement Balanced Fund
| Aggressive | 3yr | 2yr | 1yr | Periodic Disclosure Statement |
| Milford Active Growth | 14.9 | 21.6 | 21.6 |
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| Aon Milford | 14.5 | 21.1 | 20.9 |
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| ANZ Growth | 11.9 | 19.8 |
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| Sector average (of funds reported) | 8.3 | 13.9 | 6.4 |
Based on our performance rankings and return calculation methodology the worst performing Aggressive fund in this sector is the Law Retirement Dynamic Fund
As more return data is collated we will update the tables and commentary as appropriate.
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