Equity funds could not protect themselves from aggressive corrections, as the dramatic slumps seen by the BSE and RASDAQ market have left them with no growth alternatives.
Companies listed on RASDAQ, which was previously a real gold mine for equity funds that dared to take on high risks, ceased to be growth drivers in terms of yield. Blue chips could not preserve equity funds' yields, either.
Moreover, the main indices ended the first four months with losses.
BET index dropped by around 20%, while BET-C, reflecting the trend of all listed companies, lost 14.4% during the same interval. On RASDAQ, the index that included all the listed companies, RASDAQ-C, dropped by over 25.4%.
In the first four months, the equity fund that boasted the biggest yield was Investica Altius, with minus 15.3%, while Raiffeisen Romania Actiuni fund stood at the opposite end, with a 35.8% decrease.
Whereas investments in oil, SIFs and banks brought KD Maximus the biggest annual yield last year, of 29.7%, in the first four months of 2008 the fund posted a 24.7% drop.
The fund that ranked second in 2007, Omninvest, posted a 24.8% performance in 2007, while for the first four months of 2008 its yield stood at minus 28.2%.
Another high performer in the industry, Active Dinamic, posted an annual yield of 23.3% in 2007, while in the first four months of this year it registered a decline of over 24%.
Amid stock market aggressive corrections, mutual fund managers followed two distinct investment directions: banking managers, who embraced a more cautious strategy, bet on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, while independent managers, who pursued a more aggressive strategy, were mainly attracted by the RASDAQ.
A large part of fund managers saw the reduction in investments on the stock market, from over 90% to around 70% of assets, as a solution to amortise the impact of stock market turmoil over yields.
The rising volume of assets in banking deposits and available liquidities offset the shrinking placements in stock. However, the structure of portfolios could generate significant differences between mutual funds' yields.
Thus, funds with large exposures to liquid stock on the stock market could benefit from a market rebound faster.
Funds with investments on the stock exchange started to rally in April, when an equity fund generated the highest yield in the industry for the first time this year. Last month, Raiffeisen Prosper, BT Index, and Raiffeisen Benefit (a diversified fund) filled the top positions in terms of yields.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
