The Anchor Diversified BCI Moderate fund gained 1.3% in March, in line with the category average.

The FTSE/JSE All Share Index gained 2.6% and, in general, active managers underperformed the Index. The ASISA SA General Equity category average gained a mere 1.4%. The Anchor diversified managers were comparatively better than the category average but trailed the Index. The Prudential Dividend Maximiser fund gained 2.1%, whilst the Anchor BCI Equity fund returned 1.5%. The Top 40 Index tracker, The Stanlib ALSI 40 fund, was the best performing fund and appreciated 2.9%.

The GinsGlobal Global Equity Index fund gained 1.0% in US Dollar terms, as global markets continued to gain ground. The weakening of the Rand benefitted local investors with foreign assets, adding an additional 2.5%. The offshore equity exposure of the fund therefore rallied 3.5% for the month.

Government Bonds failed to outperform Cash as investors demanded a higher yield for holding these bonds. The All Bond Index yielded 0.4%. The defensive positioning of the Sanlam Select Bond Plus fund helped the fund outperform the index and returned 0.8%. The STANLIB ALBI Bond Index Tracker delivered 0.5%, broadly in line with the index. Anchor Flexible Income segregated mandate gained 1.1%, and the Nedgroup Investments Flexible Income fund returned 0.8%. Both funds therefore outperformed a cash investment which yielded 0.6%. The positive performance is mostly due to appreciation in Listed Property shares with foreign assets.

The Anchor Diversified BCI Moderate fund gained in December, in line with the category average.

All three equity funds finished the month positive but had mixed results relative to the benchmark. The Prudential Dividend Maximiser gained 1.1% compared to the FTSE/JSE All Share Index which rose 1.0%. However, both the Anchor Equity segregated mandate and the Stanlib ALSI 40 fund, which tracks the Top 40 Index, lagged the benchmark returning 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively.

Gains from the continued strength in global equity markets post the US election was offset by a similar amount of rand strength. Consequently, the MSCI World Index tracker of the portfolio, the GinsGlobal Global Equity Index fund, gained 2.3% in US dollar terms. However, the rand strengthened by 2.4% leaving the offshore component of the portfolio slightly weaker by 0.3%.

The fact that South Africa's credit rating was not downgraded benefitted the JSE All Bond Index which gained 1.5%. However, bond funds were defensively positioned for a possible downgrade and therefore underperformed the index. Both the Sanlam Select Bond Plus fund and the STANLIB ALBI Bond Index Tracker gained 1.2%.

A strong month for listed property helped the Anchor BCI Flexible Income to recover some of the previous month's underperformance. The fund was up 0.8%. The Nedgroup Investments Flexible Income fund yielded 0.6%, in line with Cash.