On The Active Front

Market volatility and growing investor interest in passive funds are just bumps on the road to success, writes Susan Hely

- Susan Hely

Looking back over the past year, investment markets have had a wild ride. The US hit successive record highs, buoying its Australian counterpart to perform solidly, while real estate trusts slumped and fixed interest softened.

For lone investors, selecting the right shares, bonds and asset classes is tricky. There is a smorgasbord of potential investment managers, with hundreds now available in Australia. Three research houses, Morningstar, Lonsec and Zenith, have rated this year’s best fund manager, Perpetual, highly in three categories: Australian shares, small companies and diversified funds. Perpetual is an active manager with an investment process that identifies high-quality value companies. It has a long history as a value investor and spawned some of Australia’s most renowned value fund managers: Peter Morgan, Anton Tagliaferro, John Sevior, Matt Williams and Charlie Lanchester.