September, 2023
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund underperformed the benchmark in the September quarter.
Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund recorded negative absolute and excess returns for the quarter, driven in part by its exposure to China and currency hedging positions. In contrast, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund outperformed its benchmark over the period, benefiting from stock selection in Japan and the UK. In terms of domestic equities, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund recorded negative absolute and excess returns for the quarter; the two funds impacted by a material overweight to the poor-performing healthcare space. The Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund outperformed its benchmark; though absolute returns were negative. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund (RABF) performed in line with its benchmark over the period. RABF benefited from a strategic overweight to credit, however this was offset by a slightly long duration exposure. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged delivered negative absolute and excess returns in the third quarter. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, Metrics Credit outperformed traditional bonds over the period. The Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund also performed well. Elsewhere in the Fund, our exposures to global and Australian listed property weighed on performance, while a weaker Australian dollar (relative to the US dollar) boosted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-4-1.pdfAugust, 2023
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund performed in line with the benchmark in August. However, the Fund did deliver negative absolute returns for the month. The Fund’s 70% allocation to growth assets such as Australian and global equities and listed property tends to drive returns. The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed over the period. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS) recorded positive absolute returns for the month; though excess returns were in line with its benchmark. TEGS benefited in part from stock selection in the UK; notably a short position in healthcare firm AstraZeneca. In contrast, both the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged delivered negative absolute and excess returns for the month. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund all recorded negative absolute returns in August. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged delivered both negative absolute and excess returns for the month, while the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund outperformed its benchmark; benefiting in part from an overweight to credit. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, Metrics Credit outperformed government bonds, with Australian loans continuing to generate income-like returns. Global floating rate credit and the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund also performed well in August. The Fund also benefited from its exposure to Australian listed property, while a weaker Australian dollar (relative to the US dollar) boosted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-6.pdfJune, 2023
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund underperformed the benchmark in the June quarter. Howeer, the Fund did deliver positive absolute returns over the period.
The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed. Within our global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS) and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund (MAFEF) recorded strong absolute returns for the quarter but underperformed their respective benchmarks. TEGS was impacted by stock selection amongst large US growth names, while MAFEF’s underperformance was driven by its value factor exposure. In terms of domestic equities, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund (RAOF) delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter. The Core Fund benefited from stock selection within the strong-performing information technology space, while RAOF’s outperformance was driven in part by stock selection amongst materials. The Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund narrowly outperformed its benchmark, benefiting largely from its growth factor exposure. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded negative absolute returns for the quarter; though it did outperform its benchmark, benefiting from an overweight to credit. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged delivered negative absolute and benchmark-relative performance over the period. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, Metrics Credit performed well, with Australian loans continuing to generate income-like returns. The Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund and our exposure to global high-yield debt also added value. More broadly, the Fund benefited from its exposure to global and Australian listed property.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-2-1.pdfMarch, 2023
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund outperformed the benchmark in the March quarter.
The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed over the period. In terms of domestic equities, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter; benefiting from strong stock selection within the financials space. In contrast, the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund narrowly underperformed its benchmark, driven by its low-volatility, value and momentum factor exposures. Within our global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS) and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund (MAFEF) underperformed their respective benchmarks over the period; though the two funds did record strong absolute returns. TEGS was impacted by poor stock selection amongst large US growth names, while MAFEF’s underperformance was driven largely by its value factor exposure. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter, benefiting from its duration positioning and an overweight to credit. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged recorded positive absolute returns over the period but narrowly underperformed its benchmark. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, Metrics Credit performed well, with Australian loans continuing to generate income-like returns. The Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund and our exposure to global high-yield debt also added value. More broadly, the Fund also benefited from its exposure to global and Australian listed property.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-5.pdfDecember, 2022
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund narrowly underperformed the benchmark in the December quarter
However, the Fund did deliver positive absolute returns for the period. The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed over the period. In terms of global equities, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund underperformed its benchmark; though it did record positive absolute returns. In contrast, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund posted strong absolute and excess returns for the quarter, benefiting from strong stock selection in the US; notably underweights to large growth names like Tesla, Apple and Amazon.com. Within our domestic equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund recorded positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter, driven largely by its value exposure, while the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund underperformed their benchmarks. However, the Core and Opportunities funds did deliver strong absolute performance for the quarter. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns over the period, benefiting in part from their credit exposure. In terms of extended fixed income, Metrics Credit (Australian bank loans) and the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund performed well over the period due to their lower sensitivity to interest rate movements. High-yield debt also outperformed. More broadly, the Fund’s exposure to global and domestic listed property added value in the final quarter, while a stronger Australian dollar impacted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-4.pdfSeptember, 2022
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund outperformed the benchmark in the September quarter. However, the Fund did deliver negative absolute returns for the period. Within the Fund’s global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund (MAFEF) outperformed their respective benchmarks; though the two funds did record negative absolute returns for the quarter.
MAFEF in particular benefited from its momentum factor exposure. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund delivered strong absolute and excess returns over the period, while the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund narrowly outperformed its benchmark. In contrast, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund recorded both negative absolute and benchmark-relative returns; the Fund impacted in part by poor stock selection within the materials space. Within our traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund posted negative absolute returns for the quarter; though the latter did outperform its benchmark.
In terms of extended fixed income, both Metrics Credit (Australian bank loans) and the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund recorded strong absolute returns over the period due to their lower sensitivity to interest rate movements. More broadly, the Fund’s exposures to global and domestic listed property weighed on overall performance. Property stocks were impacted by rising interest rates, recession fears and a further spike in long-term government bond yields. Meanwhile, a weaker Australian dollar boosted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-3.pdfJune, 2022
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund underperformed the benchmark in the June quarter.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio detracted from performance over the period, with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recording negative absolute and excess returns for the quarter. Our credit portfolio also weighed on performance, with global high-yield debt in particular falling sharply. However, this was partly offset by our exposure to bank loans and floating rate credit, which outperformed other credit due to its lower sensitivity to interest rate movements. Performance was further impacted by our exposure to the poorperforming global and Australian listed property markets. Within the Fund’s global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund (MAFEF) posted negative absolute returns for the quarter; though the two funds did outperform their respective benchmarks.
MAFEF in particular benefited from its value and low-volatility factor exposures. In terms of domestic equities, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund posted negative absolute returns for the quarter but outperformed their benchmarks. The Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund underperformed over the period, due largely to its value and momentum factor exposures. Meanwhile, currency positioning was mixed for the quarter. An overweight to the Japanese yen detracted from returns, while a weaker Australian dollar boosted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-1.pdfJune, 2021
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund performed in line with the benchmark in the June quarter.
Contributing positively to performance were strong absolute returns from our global equity portfolio, including the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund. However, both funds narrowly underperformed their benchmarks over the period. This was due largely to their value exposure, as investors tended to favour quality and growth names over more cyclical, cheaper value stocks. It was a similar theme within our Australian equity portfolio, with the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund all recording strong absolute returns for the quarter but underperforming their benchmarks. The Fund’s credit exposure also added value over the period, including global floating rate credit and global high-yield debt. Our exposure to the Russell Investments Emerging Market Debt Local Currency Fund was also positive, as were our exposures to bank loans and securitised assets. Within our fixed income portfolio, both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter.
The two funds benefited largely from their overweight to credit. An overweight to global listed property, which outperformed the broader global equity market over the period, added further value.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-2.pdfApril, 2021
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund outperformed the benchmark in April. The Fund’s 70% allocation to growth assets such as Australian and global equities and listed property tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s global and domestic fixed income portfolios contributed positively to performance, with the Russell Investments International Bond Fund (AUD Hedged) and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recording positive absolute and benchmarkrelative returns for the month. Both funds benefited from their credit exposures.
Our overweight to extended fixed income assets also added value; notably our exposure to global floating rate credit, which outperformed amid improving investor sentiment and tighter credit spreads. Metrics Credit was also positive for the month. In contrast, our global and Australian equity portfolios were mixed in April. In terms of global equities, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS) recorded strong absolute returns over the period but underperformed its benchmark. TEGS was impacted in part by its pro-cyclical bias as investors tended to favour growth-oriented names over more cyclical, cheaper value stocks.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Portfolio_Series_-_Balanced_-_Class_A_AUD-2.pdfDecember, 2020
The Russell Investments Balanced Fund outperformed the benchmark in the December quarter. The Fund’s global and domestic equity portfolios contributed positively to performance over the period. In terms of global equities, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund delivered positive excess returns for the quarter, driven by strong performances from their emerging markets and UK equity specialists. The Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund also performed well, benefiting largely from its value exposure.
Within our Australian equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund recorded strong absolute and benchmark relative returns over the period. The Fund’s credit exposure was also positive for the quarter; notably global high-yield debt and floating rate credit, which recorded good gains as bank loans and securitised assets continued to recover. Credit positioning also contributed to positive excess returns for the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund. Also adding value over the period were our exposures to global and Australian listed property and an overweight to the Japanese yen. In contrast, a stronger Australian dollar impacted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Balanced_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD.pdfasset_class:
asset_category:
peer_benchmark:
broad_market_index:
manager_contact_details: Array
ticker: RIM0001AU
release_schedule: Quarterly
commentary_block: Array
factsheet_url:
Fund Factsheet
fund_features:
Russell Investments Balanced Fund — Class A is designed for investors seeking longer-term growth with a diversified approach. The Fund invests in predominantly growth assets, with some exposure to alternative assets. It aims to provide returns over the medium to long term, with moderate to high volatility, consistent with a diversified mix of predominantly growth oriented assets and some defensive assets.
- The Fund typically invests in a diversified portfolio mix with exposure to growth investments of around 70% and defensive investments of around 30%.
- Derivatives may be used to implement investment strategies.
structure: Managed Fund