Fund proves to be a good strategy

The $10 billion AMP Henderson Global Investors fund - the country's largest - showed in its June quarter results that bucking the fad towards passive investment can reap returns.

Its newest investment, the Strategic Equity Growth Fund, recorded a pre-tax return of 18.1 per cent over the last quarter, reflecting strong growth in local markets.

It also proved there were good returns to be had in the New Zealand market and that much of the good news had been masked by the poor performance of heavyweights such as Telecom.

Launched in February, the fund pursues "an absolute return" strategy, focusing on growing companies with no reference to market weightings.

Since it started the fund has provided a return of 22 per cent, nearly double that of shares on the NZSE40.

The fund's substantial holdings in Fisher & Paykel and Rubicon contributed to the good returns, with both stocks up by over 50 per cent during the quarter.

AMP's passive New Zealand equities fund returned 2.2 per cent for the quarter and fell 1.4 per cent for the June year. Its passive global equities fund gained 3.9 per cent of the quarter but fell 10 per cent over the year.