CPF-related funds grew 2.7% in Q3

Current volatility remains low but headwinds are expected.

Funds included in the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS) grew 2.70% in Q3, a positive and encouraging development for investors, Thomson Reuters Lipper revealed.

According to a press release, CPFIS-included unit trusts increased 3.06% and CPFIS-included investment-linked products (ILP) rose 2.49%.

For all CPFIS-included funds, equities and mixed asset posted positive returns of 3.50% and 2.23%, whilst bonds and money market funds grew 0.33% and 0.15%.

The overall performance of CPFIS-included funds posted a positive return of 13.14% YoY on average.

CPFIS-included unit trusts rallied 14.76% on the year and CPFIS-included ILPs soared 12.19%.

For the one-year period, on average, equities, which rose 17.57%, outperformed bond offerings, which rose 0.08%, mixed-asset, which grew 10.13%, and money market funds, which grew 0.57%.

For the three-year period ended September 2017, CPFIS-included funds soared 19.25% on average, accounted for by a gain of 19.90% from CPFIS-included unit trusts and 18.93% from CPFIS-included ILPs.

Thomson Reuters Lipper head of Asia Pacific research Xav Feng commented, “CPFIS funds experienced robust performance in the third quarter of 2017. Current volatility remains low but headwinds are expected by market participants around the world. In the U.S., Jerome Powell has been appointed as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Tax reform remains the center piece subject leading to investor optimism, but caution is still seen from large financial institutions. In China, after the 19th CPC National Congress, President Xi Jinping outlined his ‘China Dream’ of renewed national wealth and heralds a ‘new era’ of Chinese power. In light of these developments, investors are advised to stay on top of global geopolitical events and remain cautious.”