- Markets were very strong globally in January, with the much anticipated “Santa Claus Rally” being pushed out to 2019 after a dismal December period. Listed Property was again one of the top performing sectors on the ASX up +6.2%.
- The Atlas High Income Property Fund gained +4.3% in January, lagging the exceptionally strong index. The key driver of property index performance was strong returns from the Trusts whose earnings contain a significant proportion of development profits. With trusts such as Goodman and Charter Hall now being valued at over twenty times forward earnings, the market is pricing these trusts as if we were in the early days of a property boom, rather than in one that is visibly unwinding.
- The Fund remains populated with trusts that offer investors recurring earnings streams from rental income rather than development profits. This should deliver a more stable stream of distributions throughout the property cycle.
Go to Monthly Newsletters for a more detailed discussion of the listed property market and the fund’s strategy going into 2019.