Aviva Investors' High Growth Share Fund lost -3.6% in January, bringing its 12 month return to -28.4%, while the Sustainable Investment Fund lost -5.3% (12 month return -29.9%).
The High Growth Share Fund, an equity long/short fund that limits short selling to only 25% of the Fund's value, made gains on positions in CSL and Rio Tinto but losses on Asciano Group and Origin Energy.
The Sustainable Investment Fund suffered from exposure to companies with weaker balance sheets, such as Asciano, Fairfax and Stockland. Defensive stock selections, including Origin Energy and QBE, also lost ground. The companies that did perform well during the month, such as Rio, Incitec Pivot and CSL, were not held in large enough quantities to offset these losses.
