Investments in Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust and Shopping Centres Australia helped propel the Freehold Absolute Return Fund to a 1.73 per cent return over the month of October. The Fund has generated a 15.9 per cent return over the past 12 months, and 27.5 per cent since inception on June 30, 2013. According to  its manager, Andrew Smith, the daily volatility of the fund since inception is less than 5 per cent..

Tree-mendous battle

Its the battle of the Christmas trees around the city, led by the tallest in Martin Place at 21 metres, installed by the City of Sydney. In a new tradition, King Street Wharf's owners have installed a 13-metre environmentally friendly "ribbon tree", said to be the first of its kind in Australia,  with low Co2 emissions and an 80 per cent saving in power consumption, reducing the tree's consumption to 600W. Westfield has also joined the festive season with a 10-metre-tall one in Pitt Street Mall made of half a million lego bricks.