The average Czech mutual fund investor achieved an annual appreciation of 5.86 percent last year. Equity funds were mainly behind the performance in the fourth quarter of 2020. This follows from the Czech Investor Index CII750, which is compiled by Fincentrum & Swiss Life Select on the basis of 750 funds that are commonly available to the Czech investor. In its calculation, it monitors not only the return of funds, but also their weight in the total investment portfolio in the Czech Republic.
“On the capital markets, the shares of companies that managed to adapt to the e-commerce environment played a key role last year. Sustainability companies also enjoyed significant popularity. Related to this is the focus of the most successful actively managed funds in the Czech Investor Index CII750,” commented Fincentrum & Swiss Life Select Richard Bechník.
After the first quarter of last year, mutual funds in the Czech Republic were, according to the CII750 Index, deeply negative, minus 9.92 percent. For the rest of the year, however, the Czech investor managed to erase losses relatively quickly and reached the initial zero appreciation at the beginning of October. “The dynamic growth of mutual funds from the last two months proved to be decisive for the final positive result,” said Bechník.
In contrast to the third quarter, the rate of appreciation of Czech investments increased significantly at the end of the year. The index curve thus gained steeper growth after previous hesitation. In October, investments still had to wait for a better result, adding 0.46 percent month-on-month. In November, however, the dynamics picked up pace and the Czech investor gained 4.61 percent. December brought an appreciation of 1.69 percent.
Shares from the USA, the Asian region, specifically China, South Korea and Taiwan, performed best. At the bottom are stock indices from Brazil, Colombia, Britain and Russia. The global stock index rose 14.34 percent. The technology and consumption sectors were successful. The weakest was the energy and financial sector or selected industries.
The global market for safer corporate bonds in the investment rating band strengthened by 10.4 percent for the year, while riskier high-yield bonds appreciated by seven percent. Government bonds improved by 9.2 percent globally. Czech government bonds performed around five percent.
In terms of currencies, the appreciation of the euro helped European stocks, while the US dollar tended to devalue US investment. The index, which compares the US dollar against the six leading world currencies, weakened by about seven percent a year. The second half of the year mostly testified to funds secured in Czech crowns, especially against the US dollar.
According to data from the Capital Market Association, assets in collective investment funds increased by two billion to CZK 559 billion in the first three quarters. In 2019, the average Czech investor earned 8.9 percent.
Source: CTK
