Multi-asset funds offer consistent returns if not quite the big bang

Multi-asset funds that combine equities, gold and fixed income are designed to smooth portfolio volatility, but their role extends beyond just reducing drawdowns. Over the past 16 years, actively managed multi-asset portfolios have outperformed domestic equities, delivering an annualised return of 11.4% compared with 10.7% for the BSE Sensex TRI, or Total Returns Index, according to a study by WhiteOak Capital.The strategy has, however, lagged higher-returning asset classes such as gold and glob...