September, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund underperformed the benchmark in the September quarter.
Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund (RABF) performed in line with its benchmark; though absolute returns were slightly negative. RABF benefited from a strategic overweight to credit, however this was offset by a slightly long duration exposure; positioning that was impacted by the sharp rise in bond yields we saw over the period. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged delivered both negative absolute and excess returns for the 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.
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, 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 in the third 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. Elsewhere in the Fund, our exposures to global and Australian listed property weighed on overall performance.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-7-1.pdfAugust, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund narrowly underperformed the benchmark in August. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
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. Our 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. Meanwhile, the Fund benefited from its exposure to Australian listed property and a weaker Australian dollar (relative to the US dollar), which boosted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-5-2.pdfJuly, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund narrowly outperformed the benchmark in July. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio performed well over the period, with the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivering positive absolute and excess returns for the month. Both funds benefited from a long-held overweight to credit. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, Metrics Credit outperformed government bonds in July, with Australian loans continuing to generate incomelike returns. Global floating rate credit and the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund also performed well. Within the Fund’s global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS) and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund (MAFEF) delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the month. TEGS’ outperformance was driven in part by stock selection in the US, including overweights to Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) and Uber Technologies, while MAFEF benefited from its value and growth factor exposures. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund also recorded positive absolute and benchmark-relative returns in July. Both funds benefited from stock selection within the materials space, including an underweight to iron ore major Fortescue Metals Group. The Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund performed in line with its benchmark; though absolute returns were positive. Meanwhile, 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-1-3.pdfJune, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund underperformed the benchmark in the June quarter. However, the Fund did deliver positive absolute returns over the period.
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. The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed over the period. 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. 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-4-1.pdfMay, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund performed in line with the benchmark in May. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio was mixed over the period. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged recorded both negative absolute and excess returns in May. The Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund also delivered negative absolute returns for the month, though it did perform in line with its benchmark; the Fund benefiting in part from an overweight to credit. 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 also outperformed. Within the Fund’s global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund delivered positive absolute returns for the month but underperformed its benchmark. Much of the Fund’s underperformance was driven by stock selection in the US; notably underweights to large cap names like NVIDIA Corp., Apple and Tesla. In contrast, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund recorded both negative absolute and excess returns in May. In terms of Australian equities, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund (RAOF) delivered negative absolute returns for the month but outperformed their benchmarks. The Core Fund’s outperformance was driven in part by an overweight to the information technology sector, while RAOF benefited from stock selection within the energy space. 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-2-1.pdfApril, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund performed in line with the benchmark in April. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio contributed positively to performance over the period.
The Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the month, benefiting in part from its long-held overweight to credit. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged was flat against its benchmark in April; though it did record positive absolute returns for the month. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, Metrics Credit performed well over the period, with Australian loans continuing to generate income-like returns. The Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund also outperformed. Within the Fund’s global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the month, benefiting from strong stock selection in the UK.
This included ex-benchmark holdings in stockbroker Numis Corp. and price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com. In contrast, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund was flat for the month. In terms of Australian equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund was also flat in April, while the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund (RAOF) recorded positive absolute and benchmark-relative returns over the period. RAOF’s outperformance was driven by strong stock selection within the materials sector; notably underweights to miners BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group. Elsewhere in the Fund, our exposures to global and Australian listed property added value in April, while a weaker Australian dollar boosted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File:March, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in the March quarter. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns over the period, benefiting from its duration positioning and an overweight to credit.
The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged recorded positive absolute returns for the quarter 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 highyield debt also added value. The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed over the period. Within our domestic equities portfolio, 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. In terms of global equities, 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. 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_International_Shares_Fund-Class_A-English-RetIntEq-AUD-13.pdfFebruary, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund performed in line with the benchmark in February. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio was mixed over the period. The Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged delivered negative absolute returns in February but narrowly outperformed its benchmark, while the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund was flat for the month. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, both Metrics Credit and the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund performed well over the period; the latter continuing to benefit from running yield in excess of the benchmark. The Fund’s equity portfolio was also mixed in February. Within our Australian equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund (RAOF) delivered positive excess returns for the month but underperformed their benchmarks. The Core Fund benefited from stock selection amongst financials, while RAOF’s outperformance was driven by stock selection within the materials space. In terms of global equities, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS) underperformed its benchmark in February; though it did record positive absolute returns for the month. TEGS was impacted by stock selection in the US; notably underweights to large growth names like Apple and Tesla.
The Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund also underperformed over the period. Elsewhere, our exposures to global and Australian listed property weighed on overall performance, 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-1-2.pdfJanuary, 2023
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in January. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio contributed positively to performance, with the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund outperforming their respective benchmarks. Both funds benefited from their overweight to credit as spreads tightened throughout the period. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, global high-yield debt and the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund delivered positive absolute returns in January. Metrics Credit also performed well, with Australian loans continuing to generate income-like returns. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged recorded strong absolute and excess returns for the month; the two funds benefiting from strong stock selection in the US and emerging markets.
The Russell Investments MultiAsset Factor Exposure Fund also performed well in January. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund outperformed its benchmark, benefiting from strong stock selection amongst property trusts. In contrast, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund (RAOF) underperformed its benchmark in January; though it did record positive absolute returns for the month. RAOF’s underperformance was driven in part by poor stock selection within the materials space.
The Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund performed in line with its benchmark over the period. Meanwhile, 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-14.pdfDecember, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-13.pdfNovember, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in November. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio contributed positively to fund performance, with the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund outperforming their respective benchmarks over the period. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, global high-yield debt, the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund all outperformed in November. Metrics Credit also performed well, with Australian loans continuing to generate income-like returns. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged recorded strong absolute and excess returns for the month. Both funds benefited from strong stock selection in the US, including underweights to poor-performing growth names like Apple and Tesla. The Russell Investments MultiAsset Factor Exposure Fund posted more modest excess returns in November. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund both underperformed their benchmarks over the period; though they did deliver strong absolute returns for the month. In contrast, the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund narrowly outperformed its benchmark; the Fund benefiting from its value and quality factor exposures. Adding further value in November were our exposures to global and Australian listed property, which performed well against a backdrop of lower government bond yields.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-12.pdfOctober, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in the September quarter. However, the Fund did deliver negative absolute returns for the period. 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. 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. 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-11.pdfSeptember, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in the September quarter. However, the Fund did deliver negative absolute returns for the period. 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. 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. 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-10.pdfAugust, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in August. However, the Fund did deliver negative absolute returns for the month. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded negative absolute returns in August; though the two funds did outperform their respective benchmarks. In terms of our extended fixed income exposure, the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund and Metrics Credit generated positive returns, while the Russell Investments Global High Yield Fund gave back the previous month’s gains. Within our global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged outperformed their benchmarks in August; though they did record negative absolute returns for the month. Excess returns were driven in part by the funds’ value bias and an overweight to emerging markets.
The Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund performed in line with its benchmark. In terms of Australian equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund all delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the month. Elsewhere in the Fund, our exposure to global and Australian listed property detracted from overall 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-9.pdfJuly, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund narrowly underperformed the benchmark in July. However, the Fund did deliver positive absolute returns for the month. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. The Fund’s global and Australian equity portfolios weighed on performance. In terms of global equities, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged all underperformed their benchmarks in July; though all three funds recorded positive absolute returns for the month.
Within our Australian equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund underperformed their benchmarks over the period; though, like their global counterparts, the funds delivered strong absolute returns. The Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund performed in line with its benchmark. In contrast, the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio added value in July, with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recording positive absolute and excess returns for the month.
The two funds benefited in part from their credit exposures. Within our extended fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund performed well as prices on loans and securitised assets rebounded in line with a pickup in credit market activity. Our exposure to Australian listed property added further value in July. Meanwhile, in the currency space, a stronger Australian dollar negatively impacted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BT-Wholesale-Funds-BT-Wholesale-Multi-manager-Conservative-Fund-BTA0222AU-factsheet-11.pdfJune, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-8.pdfMay, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund underperformed the benchmark in May. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio underperformed over the period with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund posting negative absolute returns for the month. Within our extended fixed income portfolio, credit returns were also negative. Global high-yield debt fell amid rising borrowing costs for corporates, while the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund was hindered by declining prices for loans and securitised assets. Partly offsetting this were good gains from Metrics Credit and the Russell Investments Emerging Market Debt Local Currency Fund. Our exposures to global and Australian listed property also weighed on returns in May as both sectors sold off amid rising interest rates.
Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund (TEGS), the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged (RGOF) all delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the month. Both TEGS and RGOF benefited from their value bias and strong stock selection in Japan. In contrast, the Fund’s Australian equity portfolio was mixed. Both the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund recorded negative absolute and excess returns in May, whereas the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund narrowly outperformed its benchmark. Meanwhile, in the currency space, 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-3-2.pdfMarch, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund underperformed the benchmark in the March quarter.
The Fund’s 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 as spreads widened amid a combination of global rate hike expectations and heightened geopolitical risks.
However, global floating rate credit did outperform due to its low sensitivity to interest rates. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged all posted sizable, negative absolute returns for the quarter. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund underperformed its benchmark, though it did deliver positive absolute returns. The Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund recorded both positive absolute and excess returns over the period, while the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund performed in line with its benchmark. Both funds benefited from their value factor exposure.
Performance was further impacted by the Fund’s exposure to Australian listed property, which significantly underperformed the broader (domestic) equity market over the period. Meanwhile, in the currency space, 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-7.pdfFebruary, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund underperformed the benchmark in February. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
Contributing to the Fund’s underperformance was our traditional fixed income portfolio, with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recording negative absolute and benchmark-relative returns for the month. The Fund’s exposure to global high-yield debt also weighed on returns in February; the sector underperforming amid global rate hike expectations and heightened geopolitical risks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund all recorded negative absolute and excess returns for the month. Partly offsetting this were good gains across our Australian equity portfolio, with the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund posting positive absolute and benchmark-relative returns in February. Both funds benefited from underweight exposures to expensive quality growth names such as Sonic Healthcare and Domino’s Pizza. Elsewhere, our exposure to listed property was mixed, with the Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index Fund posting positive returns and the Vanguard International Property Securities Index Fund (Hedged) underperforming. Meanwhile, a stronger Australian dollar impacted the returns from our unhedged global exposures over the period.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-6.pdfJanuary, 2022
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund performed in line with the benchmark in January. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. Within the Fund’s traditional fixed income portfolio, both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded negative absolute returns for the month as government bond yields jumped on concerns that persistently high inflation will force major central banks to raise interest rates more aggressively than previously thought. Our exposure to global high-yield debt also weighed on returns in January; the sector underperforming amid heightened geopolitical risks and increasingly hawkish central bank commentary. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged all recorded negative absolute returns for the month; though they did outperform their respective benchmarks over the period.
Similarly, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund delivered negative absolute returns in January but outperformed their benchmarks. The Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund recorded both negative absolute and excess returns over the period. Elsewhere, our exposures to global and domestic listed property impacted overall performance; the asset class hindered by rate hike expectations, rising bond yields and the ongoing spread of Omicron. Meanwhile, a weaker Australian dollar boosted the returns from our unhedged global exposures.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-5-1.pdfDecember, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in the December quarter.
The Fund’s credit portfolio contributed positively to performance over the period; notably our exposure to global floating rate credit. Our exposures to global and Australian listed property – both of which outperformed their broader equity market counterparts over the period – also added value. In contrast, the Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed for the quarter. Within our domestic equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund performed largely in line with their benchmarks, while the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund outperformed on the back of its momentum exposure. In terms of global equities, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged recorded negative absolute returns for the quarter, whereas the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund outperformed, benefiting from its tilts toward low-volatility and quality factors. Within our fixed income portfolio, both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivered negative absolute returns over the period; though the latter did outperform its benchmark, albeit modestly. Meanwhile, in the currency space, our overweight to the Japanese yen, which fell against the US dollar, weighed on overall performance in the fourth quarter. A stronger Australian dollar also impacted the returns of the Fund’s assets denominated in foreign currency.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-3-1.pdfNovember, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund underperformed the benchmark in November. However, the Fund did deliver positive absolute returns for the month. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. Within our global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged underperformed their benchmarks over the period; though the former did deliver strong absolute returns for the month. Meanwhile, the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund recorded positive absolute and benchmark-relative 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 delivered negative absolute and excess returns in November; driven in part by their value exposures. The Fund’s traditional and extended fixed income portfolios were mostly positive for the month. Both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded positive absolute returns in November as investors favoured the asset class’s ‘safe haven’ characteristics following the discovery of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus. Our exposures to global floating rate credit and Metrics Credit also added value over the period. Partly offsetting this was our exposure to global high-yield debt, which underperformed amid heightened virus fears. Elsewhere, the Fund benefited from its exposure to Australian listed property, which outperformed the broader equity market following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy settings and a sharp decline in long-term government bond yields
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Portfolio_Series_-_Conservative_-_Class_A_AUD-3-2.pdfOctober, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund narrowly outperformed the benchmark in October. However, the Fund did deliver negative absolute returns for the month. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s equity portfolio delivered mixed performance over the period. In terms of global equities, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund, the Russell Investments Global Opportunities
Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments MultiAsset Factor Exposure Fund all recorded positive absolute returns for the month, however all three funds underperformed their respective benchmarks. Our Australian equity portfolio performed well in October, with the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund, the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund all delivering positive absolute and excess returns for the month. The Fund’s exposures to Australian listed property and global listed infrastructure also added value in October; the latter performing well on the back of news the US House of Representatives had finally passed President Joe Biden’s US$1 trillion infrastructure bill. In contrast, our traditional and extended fixed income exposures detracted from overall performance. Both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded negative absolute returns over the period as bond yields rose amid the prospect of central bank tapering and tighter monetary policy. Rising bond yields also weighed on the performance of the Fund’s global high-yield debt exposure. Partly offsetting this was a modest gain from Metrics Credit. Meanwhile, the Fund’s exposure to global floating rate credit had no material impact on overall returns in October.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-5.pdfSeptember, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund narrowly outperformed the benchmark in the September quarter. The Fund’s credit portfolio contributed positively to performance, including our exposures to global floating rate credit and global high-yield debt. Within our fixed income portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recorded positive absolute and benchmarkrelative returns for the quarter, benefiting in part from the excess carry gained from its overweight to credit. Our exposure to the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund also added value, while the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged performed in line with its benchmark.
The Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed for the quarter. In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter. Both funds benefited from strong stock selection within the more cyclical parts of the market. The Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund also recorded positive absolute returns for the quarter, though it did underperform its benchmark. Within our global equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged recorded positive absolute returns for the quarter but underperformed their respective benchmarks. Meanwhile, the Fund’s exposure to global listed property and our overweight to the Japanese yen detracted from overall performance.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-4.pdfAugust, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund performed in line with the benchmark in August. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. The Fund’s exposure to extended fixed income contributed positively to performance, including Metrics Credit and Australian and global floating rate credit. The Fund also benefited from its exposures to global listed infrastructure and global and Australian listed property; the latter benefiting from a modest decline in longer-term government bond yields and some encouraging earnings results within the sector. In contrast, our Australian and global equity portfolios were mixed in August.
In terms of domestic equities, the Russell Investments Australian Shares Core Fund delivered positive absolute and excess returns for the month, benefiting from its pro-cyclical bias and strong stock selection within the materials space. The Russell Investments Australian Opportunities Fund and the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund also recorded positive absolute returns, though the latter did underperform its benchmark. Within our global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund – $A Hedged underperformed their benchmarks over the period, while the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund performed in line with its benchmark. In saying that, all three funds did record positive absolute returns for the month. Meanwhile, our exposure to traditional fixed income had a relatively neutral impact on overall returns, with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund performing in line with their respective benchmarks over the period.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-3.pdfJuly, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in July. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns.
The Fund’s fixed income portfolio drove performance over the period, with the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged (RIBF) in particular delivering positive absolute and benchmark-relative returns. RIBF benefited in part from its exposure to US securitised assets as well as overweights to US Treasuries and Australian government bonds. The Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund also tracked its benchmark higher over the period. Our exposures to the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund, the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund and Metrics Credit generated further, albeit modest, gains in July.
The Fund also benefited from its exposures to the Vanguard International Property Securities Index Fund (Hedged) and the Russell Investments Global Listed Infrastructure Fund – Hedged; both of which posted good gains over the period. Meanwhile, the Fund’s equity portfolio was mixed in July.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-2.pdfJune, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in the June quarter.
The Fund’s fixed income portfolio contributed positively to performance, with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund – $A Hedged and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund recording positive absolute and excess returns for the quarter. The two funds benefited largely from their overweight to credit. Also adding value was our exposure to the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund, which performed well on the back of strong running yield and credit spread income. An overweight to global listed property, which outperformed the broader global equity market over the period, added further value. Meanwhile, within our global equity portfolio, both the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund delivered strong absolute returns for the quarter. However, the two 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.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-1-1.pdfMay, 2021
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in May. The Fund’s 70% allocation to income assets such as Australian and global bonds and cash tends to drive returns. The Fund’s fixed income portfolio contributed positively to performance, with both the Russell Investments International Bond Fund (AUD Hedged) and the Russell Investments Australian Bond Fund delivering positive absolute and benchmark-relative returns for the month. The two funds continued to benefit from their respective credit exposures. Our exposure to the Russell Investments Floating Rate Fund, Metrics Credit and the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund generated further gains in May as investor sentiment improved throughout the month. Our global equity portfolio also added value over the period, with the Russell Investments Tax Effective Global Shares Fund and the Russell Investments Multi-Asset Factor Exposure Fund recording strong absolute and benchmark-relative returns for the month. Both funds benefited from their value bias as value stocks outperformed their growth counterparts over the period.
Within our Australian equity portfolio, the Russell Investments Australian Factor Exposure Fund recorded positive absolute and benchmark-relative returns in May, driven largely by its value exposure.
File: https://commentary.quantreports.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Russell_Investments_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD-1.pdfDecember, 2020
The Russell Investments Conservative Fund outperformed the benchmark in the December quarter. The Fund’s credit exposure contributed positively to performance; 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.
Our exposure to the Russell Investments Australian Floating Rate Fund added further value over the period after it materially outperformed its benchmark. The Fund’s global and domestic equity portfolios were also positive for the quarter. 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, 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 benchmarkrelative returns for the quarter. 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_Conservative_Fund-Class_A-English-RetMA-AUD.pdfasset_class:
asset_category:
peer_benchmark:
broad_market_index:
manager_contact_details: Array
ticker: RIM0002AU
release_schedule: Monthly
commentary_block: Array
factsheet_url:
Fund Resources
Fund Factsheet
fund_features:
Russell Investments Conservative Fund is an investment option that invests in predominantly defensive assets. The Fund aims to provide your clients with stable returns over the long term. To provide returns over the short to medium term, with low volatility, consistent with a diversified mix of predominantly defensive assets and some growth oriented assets. The Fund typically invests in a diversified portfolio mix with exposure to growth investments of around 30% and defensive investments of around 70%. Derivatives may be used to implement investment strategies.
structure: Managed Fund