unit trust

[nala]

Hi forumites .I am wanting to invest in Allan Gray Balanced fund and Coronation top 20. How good are these funds > i am looking at long term.

[#2]

Check this out and make up your own mind - http://www.equinox.co.za

[Dr_Phopho]

Have you looked at satrix? They also have some good ETFs, which are good for long term and then you can compare

[warhippo]

Agree. Also look at SATRIX ETF's - could work out cheaper eventually and you can buy them right here.(MOI.) Also interesting webinar on ETF's done by Simon see JustOneLap. Good luck.

[#5]

A bit of advise from my side - check out what the balanced funds invest in. If they spread their risks across the all share index, then there is not really much point in going the unit trust route, since you will effectively be paying a fund manager to perform what Satrix does passively. If they are selective, however, i.e. if they do not follow the top 40, then there are hundreds of reasons (each depending on your personal strategy) why you would or would not use them. As for the top20, well it can't be compared to SATRIX, because it filters out the bottom 20 (I am guessing), and that idea has some merit. Teh yard stick I would use is - has their performance since December 2008 outstripped Satrix? If yes, then the evidence is there that dropping the bottom 20 works, if not, then I would say that the top20 strategy does not really work. (You cannot compare earlier than that, IMO, because the crash skews all comparisons)

[SimonPB]

tx warhippo ..
webinar for viewing/download at
http://www.justonelap.com/webinarDetail.asp?intWebinarID=15

[nala]

thx

[kwagga]

For unit trust performances: http://www.equinox.co.za/unittrusts/funds/fundresults.asp?func=perf

[partridge]

forgeddaboud performance - that is like picking the winner of a horse race after the race. In short - A MONUMENTAL waste of time. Do you have any idea what you are buying when you buy Gray or Coronation - or RECM? Brief answer - AG and RECM are PRIVATELY OWNED.( = good because that is where the managers invest their own money) THEY REALLY DON'T CARE about macros ( and by definition are not short term position takers or traders - so could be raining pekinese in china - they buy companies that they know and that is their strong suite - and they will never always be top of these stupid lists. Their second strength is their asset allocation skills. They like inflation proof bonds. Their asset allocation skills are good within the parameters of the mandate. They don't buy expensive stuff. They don't like losing client money. Much the same for Coro - but they are not privately owned.

[Blik]

Just a thought. I have a Units Trust with Allan Gray - granted they are offshore - the Orbis Equity Feeder Fund, and have contributed a lump sum and monthly sums for the past 5 or so years. Its performance is down equivalent to Cash in the Bank. I am not complaining since I think I understand why, and its a hedge against what I do here. But management costs play a major factor in Unit Trusts. A cheaper way in may be to look at Satrix through the Auto Share Invest Option on the Standard Bank Online Banking page.

[chas]

Offshore in the last quarter have done well but not great over 3/5 years. Should really look at domestic Unit Trust over 1/3 years to get a fair reflection of performance. Allan Gray are one of the better consistent performers..

[warhippo]

Also Very Interesting: "19 of 20 South African fund managers have delivered results below the market index over 20 years." See: http://www.businesslive.co.za/Feeds/inet/2011/04/21/most-fund-managers-don-t-beat-market-index