In May 2021 the average prudential balanced portfolio returned 0.3% (April 2021: 1.5%). Top performer is Hangala Prescient Absolute Balanced Fund with 3.0%, while Ninety One Managed Fund with -0.9% takes the bottom spot. For the 3-month period, Hangala Prescient Absolute Balanced Fund takes the top spot, outperforming the ‘average’ by roughly 3.8%. On the other end of the scale Stanlib Managed Fund underperformed the ‘average’ by 1.5%. Note that these returns are before (gross of) asset management fees.

The Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance to 31 May 2021 provides a full review of portfolio performances and other interesting analyses.

Understanding Benchmark Retirement Fund Investments

In the next few issues of our monthly Performance Review, I will be providing background and guidance on investments to assist Benchmark Retirement Fund members to take charge of their fund investments.

• Parties to fund and their roles and responsibilities
• Investment choice and return objectives
• Investment range and portfolio composition
• Performance characteristics of asset classes and portfolios
• The default portfolio
• The default portfolio vs the smooth growth portfolio
• Income replacement ratio and contribution rates
• Selection of investment managers
• Combining investment portfolios and when to switch
• Investment manager risks and manager diversification
• Performance measurement

In Part 6 of last month’s Benchtest, I covered the first 3 topics. In the Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance, paragraph 6, I will cover the topic ‘performance characteristics of asset classes and portfolios.

Read part 6 of the Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance to 31 May 2021 to find out what our investment views are.