NEWS
Performance Report: Collins St Value Fund
19 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Collins St Value Fund rose +3.33% in January, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +3.02% and taking 12-month performance to +29.21% vs the Index's -3.11%. Since inception in February 2016, the Fund has returned +17.75% p.a....
Read more...
19 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: Collins St Value Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | The managers of the fund intend to maintain a concentrated portfolio of investments in ASX listed companies that they have investigated and consider to be undervalued. They will assess the attractiveness of potential investments using a number of common industry based measures, a proprietary in-house model and by speaking with management, industry experts and competitors. Once the managers form a view that an investment offers sufficient upside potential relative to the downside risk, the fund will seek to make an investment. If no appropriate investment can be identified the managers are prepared to hold cash and wait for the right opportunities to present themselves. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's capacity to outperform during falling and volatile markets is highlighted by its Sortino ratio (since inception) of 1.25 vs the Index's 0.77 and down-capture ratio (since inception) of 38.29%. The Fund has outperformed the market in 6 out of 10 of the market's worst months since the Fund's inception, notably outperforming by +4.9% during March 2020 when the Index fell -20.7%. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund January 2021
18 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund is now available. The Fund, which has been in operation for more than 10 years, has a long-biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy and invests in...
Read more...
18 Feb 2021 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund January 2021
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - January 2021 (pdf format)
BENNELONG KARDINIA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review. You are also able to view the Fund's Profile.
- The Fund is long biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy investing in listed ASX companies.
- The Fund has significantly outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index since its inception in May 2006 and also has significantly lower risk KPIs. The Fund has an annualised return of 8.74% p.a. with a volatility of 7.64%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 5.98% p.a. with a volatility of 14.44%.
- The Fund also has a strong focus on capital protection in negative markets. Portfolio Managers Kristiaan Rehder and Stuart Larke have significant market experience, while Bennelong Funds Management provide infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution capabilities.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - January 2021 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Montgomery Small Companies Fund
17 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Montgomery Small Companies Fund has risen +20.99% over the past 12 months vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's -3.11%. Since inception in October 2019, the Fund has returned +17.83% p.a. vs the Index's +1.80%.
Read more...
17 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: Montgomery Small Companies Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | Montgomery Lucent, a joint venture between Lucent Capital Partners and Montgomery Investment Management, is the investment manager of the Fund. Lucent Capital Partners is owned by its founders Gary Rollo and Dominic Rose. Gary and Dominic have worked together for three years as at February 2020 and have a combined three decades of portfolio management and equities research experience. The manager is able to invest up to 10% of the portfolio in pre-IPO opportunities. They search for companies likely to benefit from secular trends, industry change and with substantial competitive advantages. Cash typically ranges around 10%. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund returned -1.08% in January. The largest positive contributors included Bingo Industries, Sezzle and Uniti Group. Key detractors included Aeris Resources, Centuria Capital Group and Western Areas. The portfolio's top completed holdings (i.e. those that the Fund holds but which Montgomery aren't actively buying or selling at the time of writing their Jan 2021 report) included Alliance Aviation Services, City Chic Collective, Ingenia Communities Group, Macquarie Telecom Group and Uniti Group. Relative to the Fund's benchmark (ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index), the portfolio ended the month overweight Industrials, Communication Services, IT, Consumer Discretionary and Real Estate, and underweight Energy, Materials, Consumer Staples, Financials and Health Care. By market capitalisation, the portfolio had greatest exposure to companies with a market cap greater than $1bn. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund January 2021
16 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund is now available. The Fund is a research driven, market and sector neutral, "pairs" trading strategy investing primarily in large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index...
Read more...
16 Feb 2021 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund January 2021
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - January 2021 (pdf format)
BENNELONG LONG SHORT EQUITY FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund.
- The Fund is a research driven, market and sector neutral, "pairs" trading strategy investing primarily in large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over 19-years' track record and an annualised returns of 15.25%.
- The consistent returns across the investment history highlight the Fund's ability to provide positive returns in volatile and negative markets and significantly outperform the broader market. The Fund's Sharpe Ratio and Sortino Ratio are 0.93 and 1.54 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - January 2021 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
12 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund has returned +21.25% over the past 12 months vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's -3.11%. Since inception in March 2013, the Fund has returned +11.45% p.a. vs the Index's +7.66%.
Read more...
12 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | Paragon's unique investment style, comprising thematic led idea generation followed with an in depth research effort, results in a concentrated portfolio of high conviction stocks. Conviction in bottom up analysis drives the investment case and ultimate position sizing: * Both quantitative analysis - probability weighted high/low/base case valuations - and qualitative analysis - company meetings, assessing management, the business model, balance sheet strength and likely direction of returns - collectively form Paragon's overall view for each investment case. * Paragon will then allocate weighting to each investment opportunity based on a risk/reward profile, capped to defined investment parameters by market cap, which are continually monitored as part of Paragon's overall risk management framework. The objective of the Paragon Fund is to produce absolute returns in excess of 10% p.a. over a 3-5 year time horizon with a low correlation to the Australian equities market. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund returned -2.5% in January. Paragon noted markets corrected in the last week of the month on excessive optimism, leaving global and local indices mixed. Positive contributors included Pilbara, PointsBet and DeGrey (short), offset by declines in gold and technology holdings impacted by the market sell-off. Paragon's view is that monetary and fiscal stimulus tailwinds remain, with Biden proposing new spending plans at approx. US$2t. They believe the strength in markets is analogous to the recovery and expansion from March 2009 lows. They reiterated their view that this equities bull market is early-stage (and not late). |
| More Information |
Performance Report: Surrey Australian Equities Fund
11 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Surrey Australian Equities Fund has risen +16.21% over the past 12 months, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +19.32% and taking annualised performance since inception in June 2018 to +10.17% vs the Index's +7.33%.
Read more...
11 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: Surrey Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | The Investment Manager follows a defined investment process which is underpinned by detailed bottom up fundamental analysis, overlayed with sectoral and macroeconomic research. This is combined with an extensive company visitation program where we endeavour to meet with company management and with other stakeholders such as suppliers, customers and industry bodies to improve our information set. Surrey Asset Management defines its investment process as Qualitative, Quantitative and Value Latencies (QQV). In essence, the Investment Manager thoroughly researches an investment's qualitative and quantitative characteristics in an attempt to find value latencies not yet reflected in the share price and then clearly defines a roadmap to realisation of those latencies. Developing this roadmap is a key step in the investment process. By articulating a clear pathway as to how and when an investment can realise what the Investment Manager sees as latent value, defines the investment proposition and lessens the impact of cognitive dissonance. This is undertaken with a philosophical underpinning of fact-based investing, transparency, authenticity and accountability. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund returned -1.49% in January. Top performers included Pointsbet Holdings, Sezzle, Uniti Wireless and Lifestyle Communities. Heading into reporting season, Surrey are comfortable with their portfolio and look forward to the large number of company meetings they have planned. Surrey made various changes to the portfolio over January and ended the month with 5% in cash and 30 individual holdings. Top holdings included Auckland International Airports, Mineral Resources, Omni Bridgeway, Pointsbet and Unitit Group. By sector, the portfolio was most heavily weighted towards the Industrials and IT sectors. |
| More Information |
Performance Report: AIM Global High Conviction Fund
11 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The AIM Global High Conviction Fund has risen +5.30% over the past 12 months vs AFM's Global Equity Index's +2.59%. Since inception in July 2015, the Fund has returned +4.02% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 11.29%.
Read more...
11 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: AIM Global High Conviction Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | AIM look for the following characteristics in the businesses they want to own: - Strong competitive advantages that enable consistently high returns on capital throughout an economic cycle, combined with the ability to reinvest surplus capital at high marginal returns. - A proven ability to generate and grow cash flows, rather than accounting based earnings. - A strong balance sheet and sensible capital structure to reduce the risk of failure when the economic cycle ends or an unexpected crisis occurs. - Honest and shareholder-aligned management teams that understand the principles behind value creation and have a proven track record of capital allocation. They look to buy businesses that meet these criteria at attractive valuations, and then intend to hold them for long periods of time. AIM intend to own between 15 and 25 businesses at any given point. They do not seek to generate returns by constantly having to trade in and out of businesses. Instead, they believe the Fund's long-term return will approximate the underlying economics of the businesses they own. They are bottom-up, fundamental investors. They are cognizant of macro-economic conditions and geo-political risks, however, they do not construct the Fund to take advantage of such events. AIM intend for the portfolio to be between 90% and 100% invested in equities. AIM do not engage in shorting, nor do they use leverage to enhance returns. The Fund's investable universe is global, and AIM look for businesses that have a market capitalisation of at least $7.5bn to guarantee sufficient liquidity to investors. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund returned -2.7% in January. AIM noted near-term uncertainty regarding the pace of global vaccine rollouts was the main headwind to the Fund's monthly performance. Businesses owned in the Fund that will benefit from a normalisation of their operations as vaccines are increasingly widely distributed over the course of 2021 continued to face operating constraints due to COVID-related lockdowns. The top five contributors to performance were Prosus, Microsoft, Alphabet, ICON and PayPal. The five largest detractors were Coca-Cola Co., Mastercard, Estee Lauder, Accenture and Heineken. AIM emphasised that their focus will remain on owning high quality businesses with resilient cash streams, strong balance sheets, competitive advantages underpinning high returns on capital and run by capable management that understand capital allocation. They added that they will avoid the speculative end of the market. |
| More Information |
Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
10 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The DS Capital Growth Fund was flat in January. Over the past 12 months it has risen +17.62% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's -3.11%. Since inception in January 2013, the Fund has returned +15.86% p.a. with an annualised volatility of...
Read more...
10 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | The investment team looks for industrial businesses that are simple to understand; they generally avoid large caps, pure mining, biotech and start-ups. They also look for: - Access to management; - Businesses with a competitive edge; - Profitable companies with good margins, organic growth prospects, strong market position and a track record of healthy dividend growth; - Sectors with structural advantage and barriers to entry; - 15% p.a. pre-tax compound return on each holding; and - A history of stable and predictable cash flows that DS Capital can understand and value. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's capacity to protect investors' capital in falling and volatile markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.80 vs the Index's 0.67, average negative monthly return of -1.94% vs the Index's -3.14%, and down-capture ratio of 45%. The Fund's down-capture ratio indicates that, on average, it has fallen less than half as much as the market during the market's negative months. The Fund has also outperformed the Index in all 10 of the Index's 10 worst months since the Fund's inception. |
| More Information |
Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
8 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund has returned +4.56% over the past 12 months vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's -3.11%. Since inception in February 2002, the Fund has risen +15.25% p.a. vs the Index's +7.95%.
Read more...
8 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | In a typical environment the Fund will hold around 70 stocks comprising 35 pairs. Each pair contains one long and one short position each of which will have been thoroughly researched and are selected from the same market sector. Whilst in an ideal environment each stock's position will make a positive return, it is the relative performance of the pair that is important. As a result the Fund can make positive returns when each stock moves in the same direction provided the long position outperforms the short one in relative terms. However, if neither side of the trade is profitable, strict controls are required to ensure losses are limited. The Fund uses no derivatives and has no currency exposure. The Fund has no hard stop loss limits, instead relying on the small average position size per stock (1.5%) and per pair (3%) to limit exposure. Where practical pairs are always held within the same sector to limit cross sector risk, and positions can be held for months or years. The Bennelong Market Neutral Fund, with same strategy and liquidity is available for retail investors as a Listed Investment Company (LIC) on the ASX. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's return was flat in January (-0.25%). Bennelong noted retail participants in the US market sparked several dramatic rallies in heavily shorted stocks. The Fund's short portfolio delivered a zero contribution for the month. Seven of the Fund's top ten positive contributors were shorts, and four of the ten largest negative contributors were shorts. Bennelong highlighted that they tend to avoid more heavily shorted stocks. There were a number of updates ahead of reporting season. Some notable ones in the long portfolio included large upgrades from BlueScope and JB Hi-Fi, and strong FUM flow data for Netwealth. Bennelong's view is that recent strength of equity markets reconciles with highly positive liquidity conditions but contrasts with a weak and uncertain economic and corporate earnings backdrop. |
| More Information |
Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
3 Feb 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Quality Equity Fund rose +15.43% over CY20, outperforming AFM's Global Equity Benchmark by +9.22%. Since inception in October 2009, the Fund has returned +13.89% p.a. vs the Index's +11.14%.
Read more...
3 Feb 2021 - Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months (pa) | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | Insync employs four simple screens to narrow the universe of over 40,000 listed companies globally to a focus group of high-quality companies that it believes have the potential to consistently grow their profits and dividends. These screens are: size of the company, balance sheet performance, valuation and dividend quality. Companies that pass this due diligence process are then valued using dividend discount models, free cash flow yield and proprietary implied growth and expected return models. The end result is a high conviction portfolio typically of 15-30 stocks. The principal investments will be in shares of companies listed on international stock exchanges (including the US, Europe and Asia). The Fund may also hold cash, derivatives (for example futures, options and swaps), currency contracts, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The Fund may also invest in various types of international pooled investment vehicles. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's return was flat in December, in line with the Index. Insync believe the outperformance of neglected sectors over the past quarter (e.g. banks, energy & cyclicals) is primarily due to exuberant expectations of much higher growth (from vaccines) and inflation views for the near term. Insync noted Megatrends have proved resilient to the COVID-19 fallout, with many existing long-term trends having been accelerated by the pandemic. These include the move to e-commerce, uptake of contactless payment methods, expansion of cloud-based services, collision of biological science technology and the transition from carbon energy to electric. They added that megatrends are typically not determined by short-term shocks, even those as significant as COVID-19. The Fund's top 10 active holdings at month-end included Nintendo, Walt Disney, Domino's Pizza, PayPal, Dollar General, Qualcomm, Visa, S&P Global, Facebook and Nvidia. |
| More Information |
