Portfolio performance
- As of 31 March 2023, UOBAM Invest portfolio returns for the first quarter, ranged between 3.3 percent to 5.7 percent
Portfolio returns (% in SGD terms) 31 December 2022 – 31 March 2023
Source: Factset / UOBAM. Portfolio returns as at 31 March 2023.
Benchmark composition:
Very Conservative: 20% Global Equities + 80% Global Bonds,
Conservative: 40% Global Equities + 60% Global Bonds,
Moderate: 60% Global Equities + 40% Global Bonds,
Aggressive: 80% Global Equities + 20% Global Bonds,
Very aggressive: 100% Global Equities.
Past performance of the portfolio or UOBAM and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast on the economy or markets are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the portfolio or UOBAM. Portfolio returns on the scheme is calculated on a single pricing basis.
1. Very Conservative portfolio
| Period |
Portfolio Return (%) |
Benchmark Return (%) |
| 3 months |
3.3 |
3.4 |
| 6 months |
3.3 |
4.6 |
| 1 year |
-7.7 |
-5.3 |
Since Inception
(26 July 2020) |
-4.4 |
-1.6 |
Source: UOBAM as of 31 March 2023. Benchmark composition: 20% Global Equities + 80% Global Bonds | US REITs: US Real Estate Investment Trusts
Since inception returns are annualised | The information about asset allocation provided herein are subject to change at the discretion of UOBAM without prior notice. Past performance of the portfolio or UOBAM and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast on the economy or markets are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the portfolio or UOBAM. Returns are calculated on a single pricing basis.
Over the past three months, this portfolio gained 3.3%. All asset classes had positive performance. The largest contributors were US government bonds, Europe equities and Asia equities.
Over the one-year period, the portfolio was down about 7.7% mainly due to the weak emerging market government bond performance relative to global bonds. However, allocation to Europe equities helped to mitigate some of the losses.
2. Conservative portfolio
| Period |
Portfolio Return (%) |
Benchmark Return (%) |
| 3 months |
3.5 |
4.1 |
| 6 months |
2.9 |
5.8 |
| 1 year |
-6.7 |
-6.2 |
Since Inception
(26 July 2020) |
-0.9 |
0.4 |
Source: UOBAM as of 31 March 2023. Benchmark composition: 40% Global Equities + 60% Global Bonds | US REITs: US Real Estate Investment Trusts
Since inception returns are annualised | The information about asset allocation provided herein are subject to change at the discretion of UOBAM without prior notice. Past performance of the portfolio or UOBAM and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast on the economy or markets are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the portfolio or UOBAM. Returns are calculated on a single pricing basis.
Over the past three months, this portfolio gained 3.5%. All asset classes had positive performance. The largest contributors were global equities, US government bonds and global corporate bonds.
Over the one-year period, the portfolio was down about 6.7%. The largest detractor was US REITs while allocation to Europe equities helped to mitigate some losses.
3. Moderate portfolio
| Period |
Portfolio Return (%) |
Benchmark Return (%) |
| 3 months |
3.9 |
4.9 |
| 6 months |
4.9 |
6.9 |
| 1 year |
-6.9 |
-7.1 |
Since Inception
(26 July 2020) |
0.9 |
2.5 |
Source: UOBAM as of 31 March 2023. Benchmark composition: 60% Global Equities + 40% Global Bonds | US REITs: US Real Estate Investment Trusts
Since inception returns are annualised | The information about asset allocation provided herein are subject to change at the discretion of UOBAM without prior notice. Past performance of the portfolio or UOBAM and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast on the economy or markets are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the portfolio or UOBAM. Returns are calculated on a single pricing basis.
Over the past three months, this portfolio gained 3.9%. All asset classes had positive performance. The largest contributors were global equities, global corporate bonds and Asia equities.
Over the one-year period, the portfolio was down about 6.9%, but performed better than the benchmark which declined 7.1%. The decline was mainly led by allocation to US REITs, while allocation to Europe equities helped to mitigate some losses.
4. Aggressive portfolio
| Period |
Portfolio Return (%) |
Benchmark Return (%) |
| 3 months |
4.9 |
5.6 |
| 6 months |
7.4 |
8.0 |
| 1 year |
-7.1 |
-8.1 |
Since Inception
(26 July 2020) |
3.4 |
4.5 |
Source: UOBAM as of 31 March 2023. Benchmark composition: 80% Global Equities + 20% Global Bonds | US REITs: US Real Estate Investment Trusts
Since inception returns are annualised | The information about asset allocation provided herein are subject to change at the discretion of UOBAM without prior notice. Past performance of the portfolio or UOBAM and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast on the economy or markets are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the portfolio or UOBAM. Returns are calculated on a single pricing basis.
Over the past three months, this portfolio was up 4.9%. All asset classes had positive performance. The largest contributors were global equities, Asia equities and US growth equities.
Over the one-year period, the portfolio was down about 7.1%, but performed better than the benchmark which was down 8.1%. The decline was mainly led by allocation to US REITs, while allocation to Europe equities and US growth equities helped to mitigate some losses.
5. Very Aggressive portfolio
| Period |
Portfolio Return (%) |
Benchmark Return (%) |
| 3 months |
5.7 |
6.4 |
| 6 months |
6.7 |
9.1 |
| 1 year |
-11.2 |
-9.1 |
Since Inception
(26 July 2020) |
3.1 |
6.5 |
Source: UOBAM as of 31 March 2023. Benchmark composition: 100% Global Equities | US REITs: US Real Estate Investment Trusts
Since inception returns are annualised | The information about asset allocation provided herein are subject to change at the discretion of UOBAM without prior notice. Past performance of the portfolio or UOBAM and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast on the economy or markets are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the portfolio or UOBAM. Returns are calculated on a single pricing basis.
Over the past three months, this portfolio gained 5.7%. All asset classes had positive performance. The largest contributors were US equities and Asia equities.
Over the one-year period, the portfolio was down about 11.2%. The decline was mainly led by allocation to US REITs, while allocation to US growth equities helped to mitigate some losses.
Looking ahead
- We think inflation will slowly improve by the end of the year, and we think the higher interest rates will lead to a downturn and technical recession will be shallow in nature
- We think this justifies a cautious but not overly bearish investment positioning
- We think we are near the end of interest rate hikes and expect to see the peak Fed Funds rate at about 5.0% to 5.25% by the middle of 2023
Inflation, interest rates and growth concerns continue to be key factors affecting markets. Although there is a significant degree of uncertainty, our base case is for inflationary pressures to moderate with global economic growth slowing to levels consistent with a shallow recession or “soft landing”.
Against this backdrop, interest rates would peak, but concerns over economic growth would likely weigh on equity performance. We are likely to see tighter financial conditions, exacerbated by the recent Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures, which would further slowdown the economy. That being said, while earnings could deteriorate in a soft landing scenario, investors can be very quick to look past the downturn and equity markets can recover quickly. By the end of the year, we do expect equities to do well after a choppy first half of 2023, as markets look past the economic slowdown toward a brighter 2024.
Over in Asia, we expect more upside to the equity market in 2023, as Asian equity valuations are more attractive compared to developed markets and Asian economies have enough structural growth to withstand the higher interest rate environment.
Even though we had a positive quarter, the market has been volatile with global equities almost losing all its gains for the year before clawing it back in the last week of the quarter. With such a volatile market, dollar cost averaging becomes even more important. We recommend investors to build their wealth by remaining invested for the long term and dollar cost average, instead of trying to time the market.
