Over three years and five years the best sector was Domestic ? Real Estate ? General with 13.7 percent per annum and 22 percent per annum respectively.

The two best performing funds over the quarter were global property funds, namely Grindrod Global Property Income Fund with 32.6 percent and the Fortress REIT Fund with 27.1 percent. The worst fund over the quarter was the RMB Sterling Income Fund with -6.6 percent, followed by the Absa Pound Sterling Income Fund with -5.9 percent.

The 12-month charts were topped by the Satrix Divi Fund and Cadiz Equity Ladder Fund with 33.3 percent and 31.8 percent respectively. "The Satrix Divi Fund?s outperformance can be attributed to strong outperformance from the fund from the March 2009 market low. The Cadiz Equity Ladder Fund?s outperformance came from using the excellent protection of derivatives during the market carnage between June 2008 and early March 2009," says Du Plessis.

The worst fund over twelve months was the STANLIB Small Cap Fund with -32.9 percent.

Old Mutual Mining best over five years

The best fund over three years was the Cadiz Equity Ladder Fund with 20.8 percent per annum and the best fund over five years was the Old Mutual Mining and Resources Fund with 27.2 percent per annum.

Du Plessis comments that the volatility in returns and the best and worst performing sectors and funds over the past year have been astounding. "This is due to the market crash and the sharp recovery we have seen in equity prices since the March lows," he says. "Volatility once again reminds investors that equity funds are a long-term investment and one should not be tempted to time the market."

For investors who missed the rally due to underweight equity exposure, the decision of when to buy is now extremely difficult. "It seems as if markets have outrun the economic fundamentals, yet they continue to make new highs," says Du Plessis. "For the rally to continue, we need to see the stimulus packages working through to companies? bottom lines. If not, there could very well be a pull-back in prices."

His advice to investors is to take things slow and phase money into the market. "The next few months may prove to be a bumpy ride and investors should use pull-backs as a buying opportunity."