The median Australian share manager generated a 1.7 per cent return during April, while the median international share strategy produced a return of 0.8 per cent.
The Morningstar survey indicated the median international share strategy underperformed the MSCI World ex-Australia NR Index by 0.2 per cent.
International share strategies remain ahead in the longer term, but with the median share strategy producing a return of 32 per cent in the past year and 15.6 per cent per annum over three years compared to the 12.4 per cent one-year return and 10.2 per cent three-year annualised return for the median Australian share manager.
The best performing Australian share strategies in the 12 months leading to 30 April 2014 were Millinium with a return of 25.4 per cent, Wilson HTM at 19.1 per cent and Solaris High Alpha at 18.9 per cent.
The strongest performing international share funds to 30 April 2014 were Bernstein Strategic at 40.5 per cent, Orbis at 39.1 per cent and GMO at 37.8 per cent.
During April, Australian shares outperformed international shares, with the ASX 300 up 1.7 per cent compared to the MSCI World ex-Australia NR Index of one per cent.
The best performing Australian sharemarket sectors over the month included energy at 3.4 per cent, utilities at 3.3 per cent, and consumer staples at 3.1 per cent.
During the month, the Australian listed property index increased 5.7 per cent, while global property was up 3.6 per cent over the same period.
The Australian Property Securities Index gained 2.6 per cent in the past 12 months, with Zurich the top performer with a return of 5.8 per cent, followed by SG Hiscock at 4.7 per cent, and Challenger at 4.5 per cent.
Morningstar also published the results of the Morningstar Australian Superannuation Survey yesterday, which indicated the median growth fund returned a one per cent return for April.
Longer annualised median returns for the median growth fund were 11.6 per cent for 12 months, 8.9 per cent for three years and 10.1 per cent for five years.
The best-performing super growth super funds in the 12 months to 30 April 2014 were Legg Mason Growth at 16.3 per cent, REST Super Diversified at 14.9 per cent and REST Super Core at 14.2 per cent.
In terms of the balanced options, which includes funds with a 40 to 60 per cent allocation to growth assets, Rest Super Balanced with a return of 10.9 per cent, AMP Moderate Growth at 9.1 per cent and AMP Moderately Conservative at 8.9 per cent were the best performers.
