Investigating the sources of performance in South African general equity unit trusts

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse the sources of performance in South African domestic equity unit trusts during the period 2002 to 2011. The study was based on Sharpe's (1992) study of the asset allocation of mutual funds in the United State s (US). Five sectors were selected to determine returns due to sector allocation: large-cap resources stocks, large-cap industrial stocks, large-cap financial stocks, mid-cap stocks and small-cap stocks.