SINGAPORE (June 30): The overall performance of all Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS)-included funds slumped 12.96% on average in 1Q20 ended March, says Refinitiv’s Lipper on Tuesday.
The findings included the performance of all unit trusts and investment-linked insurance products (ILPs) under the scheme, which recorded negative returns of 15.04% and 11.61% respectively.
For the one-year period, CPFIS-included funds fell 7.30% on average. CPFIS-included unit trusts slid 9.34%, while CPFIS-included ILPs declined by 5.99% on average.
Bond and Money Market funds grew by 0.83% and 0.30%.
The bond fund, with a 4.92% growth, outperformed the money market’s 1.39% increase for the year.
Equity and Mixed Asset funds saw negative returns of 17.74% and 9.89% respectively. Both fell 11.65% and 3.98% for the one-year period.
Benchmark indexes such as the MSCI World TR USD and MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index fell 16.27% and 13.55%.
For the same year, the key benchmark MSCI World TR USD and MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index plunged 5.26% and 8.73% respectively
The FTSE WGBI Index rose 8.01% for the same quarter, and grew 11.60% for the year.
For the three-year period, CPFIS-included funds grew 1.23% on average.
CPFIS-included unit trusts came in at a negative return of 0.91%, while CPFIS-included ILPs recorded gains of 2.57% on average.
During the same period, the FTSE WGBI TR gained 15.52%, while the MSCI World TR USD and MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index rose 9.72% and 6.09% respectively.
Bond type saw the biggest increase at +8.85% while equities suffered the loss of 1.64% over the same period.
“The first quarter of 2020 saw the world hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing not only a global health crisis, but also a large-scale economic slowdown. In reaction, Central Banks pumped money into economies to brace for impact,” says Xav Feng, head of Asia Pacific research, at Lipper at Refinitiv.
“The Federal Reserve slashed rates to near zero, launched a range of measures to increase liquidity in financial markets and promises unlimited, open-ended large-scale asset purchases. It also took additional action to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the US economy,” he adds.
Feng also warns that the full impact of the pandemic is “not over” yet.
“Investors should continue to watch for on-going market volatility as we look ahead to the next half of what can on be described as a turbulent and unparalleled year,” he says.
