As the global recovery halted amid a rising number of coronavirus cases, a number of asset classes fell into negative territory in October. This is a sharp turnaround from September, when all asset classes produced positive returns.
In our monthly heatmap, negative returns are depicted by shades of red - the darker the red, the bigger the losses. October was a mix of colours, with the chart below showing the returns of each asset class during the month (the size of the box denotes the level of assets under management in the category).
According to Morningstar Direct data, commodities funds generated the best results during the month - producing on average 1.6%. And having a closer look at the different subsectors within the category, livestock and grains funds performed particularly well amid a bull market for these products in the US, returning an average of 11.9% and 6.7% respectively in the month.
Meanwhile energy tumbled by -9.5% amid new travel bans and restrictions. Overall, it has been a terrible year for energy funds, as travel restrictions created a slump in demand for oil and gas. But the gap between the best and worst performing one is stark to see, Morningstar Direct data reveals.
Also in green, but it a lighter shade, are funds with 'safe haven status'. These are fixed income and money markets funds, which returned an average of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively during the month. In particular, USD government bonds, which in September stood out within the category by producing a strong gain of 3.8%, last month fell on average by -0.9%.
At the other side of the spectrum, equity funds lost 2.3%. In particular German equity funds were down on average 8.7% during the month amid fears for Europe's largest economy. Developed equity markets have been hit hard as coronavirus cases increased in Europe, lockdown measures returned, and uncertainty over Brexit intensifies. People are also worrying about how to position for the US election.
Some of the worst performing funds in the month were European, while the best performing ones were focused on China. Meanwhile, the UK large-cap category fund slumped on average by 4.7% as the UK equity market remains out of favour.
Elsewhere, allocation and property funds were down 0.9% and 0.2% respectively in October. Allocation funds are multi-asset funds mostly composed of equities and bonds, and weaker equity markets have had a big impact on their performance.
What Has Changed?
When comparing the last two months (bar graph below), it stands out how many asset classes moved from the right side of the line to the left one (equity, property, allocation).
Equity funds, in particular, moved from being in positive territory in September (an average of 0.5 %), to negative in October (-2.3%) – highlighting how volatile markets have been ove short time periods.