Stanbic Income Fund Trust (SIFT) has for the second consecutive year outperformed its benchmark, recording a net return of 23.1 per cent in 2014.

The return was better than that of 2013 (22.5 per cent) and ahead of its benchmark of 21.6 per cent.

The fund’s four-year cumulative return as at the end of 2014 more than doubled to 111 per cent.

At the end of 2014, 57 per cent of SIFT’s portfolio was invested in the capital market with 43 per cent in money market instruments.

Investments on the Ghanaian bourse was significantly improved growing by 609 per cent with corporate notes growing by 176 per cent.

The exposure of the fund to government holdings dropped to GH? 0.84 million from GH? 3.17 million as the fund re-rated into shorter term maturities due to rising interest rates.

Total fixed deposit investments was GH? 3.98 million with GH? 0.1 million invested in government treasury bills.

At SIFT’s fourth Annual General Meeting, Kwabena Boamah, Portfolio Manager for SIFT, said the fund witnessed significant growth amidst the currency depreciation, flight to treasury given rising rates and upward movement in inflation.

“The macroeconomic situation in Ghana worsened in the year 2014 with the Cedi shedding about 32 per cent against the dollar because of the deteriorating fiscal outturn and balance of payments position”, he said.

“External factors and a deepening energy crisis contributed to lower GDP growth of 4.2 per cent by year end 2014, one of the lowest recorded in a decade.”

Similarly, the Stanbic Cash Trust (SCT), a money market unit trust, which seeks to optimise investors’ interest income in the short term, grew from GH? 4.0m in 2013 to GH?5.3 million in 2014, representing a 34 percentage growth.

SCT’s full year return improved marginally from 22.7 per cent in 2013 to 22.8 per cent in 2014.

The 2014 return, however, marginally undershot the benchmark of the average 91-Day Treasury Bill rate for the year.

Peggy Adomaa Denkyi, Portfolio Manager for SCT, attributed this to the sharp upward movement in short term rates during the year and withdrawals by clients as they shifted into dollar based assets.

On the Ghanaian economic outlook, Boamah said “a lot of factors will have to come into play for longer term stability; fiscal rectitude, deeper structural reform with emphasis on strengthening the local manufacturing base and a more benign external environment”.

Stanbic Income Fund Trust is managed by STANLIB Ghana, formerly Stanbic Investment Management Services, which used to be the asset management arm of Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd. STANLIB, is wholly owned by Liberty Holdings Limited an part of the global investment management franchise of the Standard Bank Group.