The Australian sharemarket recorded its worst performance for three years in 2014/15, with resources companies some of the weakest stocks, a survey has found.
Mercer's latest Investment Survey, out Wednesday, found the S&P/ASX300 returned just 5.6 per cent for the year to June, down from 17 per cent in 2013/14, and 22 per cent in 2012/13.
The survey attributed the weaker returns to worries about the Greek debt crisis and recent turmoil in China's sharemarket.
"The risks of Grexit and the bursting of China's equity bubble were the two most recent sources of volatility," the survey stated.
It also cited collapsing energy and other commodity prices, as well as "growing fears of deflation in Europe" as factors.
Healthcare and Telco stocks were some of the best performers, the survey found, while energy, materials and consumer staples were sold off.
Companies that dominated locally included Telstra (up 24.0pct), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (up 10.5pct), CSL (up 32.3pct) and Macquarie Group (up 43.1pct).
Resources firms were among the weakest market participants, with BHP falling 13.1 per cent, Santos down 43.3 per cent and Fortescue Metals Group dropping 53.3 per cent.
Woolworths, down 20.1 per cent, also posted a poor return over the year, the survey found.
"The combination of rich equity and bond valuations, low and uneven global growth, and the prospect of an eventual rise in US interest rates, all point to a period of continued volatility," the survey stated.
CommSec has tipped growth-focused stocks like banks and materials to be big improvers in 2015/16, with the All Ordinaries index expected to be trading around 6,000-6,200 points in June 2016.
However, the Australian dollar remains a key uncertainty, having fallen by about 18 per cent in 2014/15.
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