Exchange-traded funds (ETF) mimicking equity indexes of Australian listed property, South Korea and Europe delivered the best returns in the September 2009 quarter among ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Listed Property Fund, whose top holdings include Westfield Group and Stockland, jumped 32.13 per cent in the three months.
The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, whose biggest weightings include conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai, surged 23.03 per cent.
The iShares S&P Europe 350 ETF, whose top stocks include HSBC Holdings, Nestle and British American Tobacco, advanced 12.32 per cent.
“Listed property has been one of the hardest hit sectors in 2008 and early 2009,” PennyWise Investment managing director David Bassanese said.
“There were a lot of negative write-downs already priced into the sector. If you look at price to book measures and the rally we’ve seen in recent months it has taken them back to fair value.”
PennyWise runs model portfolios built on ETFs for financial planners.
ETFs tracking Chinese stocks and gold lost value.
The iShares FTSE/Xinhua ETF lost 2 per cent in the September quarter. Chinese stocks were expensive compared to their South Korean and European peers, Bassanese said.
The ETF Securities Physical Gold, which tracks the price of the precious metal, slipped 1.89 per cent in the three months.
Bassanese said locally-listed international ETF performances including gold have been hurt by the Australian dollar’s sharp rise in recent months.
Vanguard’s US Total Market Shares Index and All-World ex-US Shares Index ETF, which were listed on the ASX in May 2009, rallied 7.46 per cent and 10.72 per cent, respectively.
