BEST PROPERTY SECURITIES FUNDS

Exposure to a range of sectors provides income and capital growth over time

The winner of this category, the Zurich Investments Australian Property Securities Fund, was also last year's winner. These funds, which mainly invest in listed Australia real estate trusts (A-REITs), have produced relatively strong 12-month returns for investors, well up on the previous 12 months.

The Zurich fund aims to provide exposure to a range of property securities, including the commercial, industrial and retail sectors. It also seeks to produce capital growth and income over the medium to long term and outperform the benchmark (S&P/ASX 300 AREIT Accumulation Index) over a five-year period. Distributions are paid quarterly. Its investment team aims to identify and invest in property securities where their market prices, in its view, are less than their intrinsic value.

The Zurich team conducts rigorous individual stock research with the choice of securities not limited to those represented in the industry benchmark.

The fund has a gold rating from Morningstar, meaning it's a “best of breed” in its category, and a “highly recommended” rating from Zenith, meaning it's deemed to be a strong investment within its asset class.

The funds were selected from those highest rated by research houses Lonsec, Morningstar, SQM Research and Zenith Investment Partners. Each fund had to be open to new investment with a minimum initial investment of $25,000 or less. Funds were ranked using a points system based on their rating by each research house. Performance data as at September 30, 2018.