In the third quarter of 2019, the overall performance of CPFIS-included funds continued posting slightly positive returns of 0.18% on average. Specifically, a negative return of 0.29% and positive return of 0.47% were recorded among CPFIS-included unit trusts, and CPFIS-included ILPs respectively. By asset class, across all CPFIS-included funds, except for equities, which posted negative return of 0.66%, bonds, mixed assets and money market funds achieved positive returns of 2.37%, 0.98% and 0.40% respectively. Meanwhile, MSCI World TR USD and FTSE WGBI Index rallied 2.89% and 3.08%, and MSCI AC Asia ex Japan posted negative return of 2.27%.
For the one-year period ended September 2019, the overall performance of CPFIS-included funds posted a slightly positive return of 1.74% on average. CPFIS-included unit trusts rose 0.33% on the year and CPFIS-included ILPs soared 2.62% on average. Meanwhile, the key benchmark MSCI World TR USD and FTSE WGBI TR went up 3.66% and 9.44% respectively, while MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index fell 1.98% for the period. On average, bond (+7.14%) fund outperformed the mixed-asset (+3.24%), money market (+1.46%) and equity (-0.13%) fund offering.
For the three-year period, CPFIS-included funds achieved 18.35% growth on average, accounted for a gain of 19.03% from CPFIS-included unit trusts and 17.93% from CPFIS-included ILPs on average. During this period, MSCI World TR USD and MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index rallied 38.05% and 22.95% respectively, while the FTSE WGBI TR achieved 5.09%. Equity type was the leading gainer (+22.33%) and bond portfolio posted positive return of 6.39%.
In the third quarter of 2019, CPFIS funds managed to achieve positive returns amidst uncertain global markets. It is worthy paying attention to the U.S Federal Reserve’s final decision on whether to signal an interruption to its monetary easing. Additionally, hopes are rising that the “phase-one” trade deal between China and the United States will be signed, resolving the core concerns of both parties. Market participants should remain alert to these ongoing issues.
The Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) and Life Insurance Association of Singapore (LIAS) have appointed Lipper to monitor the performance of all unit trusts and investment-linked insurance products included under the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS).
Click here or on the Download Full Report link in the upper right-hand column of this page to download the entire Report: CPFIS FTC Quarterly Report_Q319_Final
