Ten managed funds were downgraded and only three received upgrades in Standard & Poor's Fund Services' (S&P) latest review of alternative equity strategies.
The Zurich Investments Equity Income Fund was downgraded to four stars from five, while PM Capital's Absolute Performance Fund was moved to two stars from three.
Funds including EQT SGH Wholesale Absolute Return, Challenger Wholesale Asian Share, Merlon Wholesale Australian Share, and CFS Acadian Wholesale Australian Equity Long/Short were all downgraded to three stars.
Aviva Investors Professional High Growth Shares, CFS Wholesale Australian Share Long/Short Core, Goldman Sachs Global Flex and Global Sachs Hedged Global Flex were also all downgraded to three stars.
"With nine managers receiving downgrades, only three managers receiving upgrades, and nine new ratings, the peer group has seen more rating changes than in previous years," S&P fund analyst Michael Armitage said.
"This is understandable given the volatility of markets and managers' ability or inability to handle market stress faced evaluation."
The funds that were awarded upgrades included Pengana Asian Equities Long/Short, Platinum European and Five Oceans World (Professional). All their ratings were boosted to four stars from three.
"With the global equity markets experiencing large drawdowns in recent periods and the classic 'buy and hold' equity proposition failing many investors over extended periods, alternative equity strategies continue to present a strong case for inclusion in a well-diversified portfolio," Armitage said.
"Market exposure strategies continue to present mixed returns, with fundamentally-driven strategies outperforming quantitative-based strategies."
