NEWS
Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
14 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Glenmore Australian Equities Fund rose +5.94% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +4.52%. Since inception in June 2017, the Fund has returned +38.85% p.a. versus the Index's +12.93%.
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14 Sep 2018 - Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The main driver of identifying potential investments will be bottom up company analysis, however macro-economic conditions will be considered as part of the investment thesis for each stock. |
| Manager Comments | The Glenmore Australian Equities Fund rose +5.94% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +4.52%. Since inception in June 2017, the Fund has returned +38.85% p.a. versus the Index's +12.93%. Adjusting for risk, the Fund's Sharpe ratio for performance since inception is 3.67 versus the Index's 1.69, highlighting the Fund's capacity to achieve significantly superior risk-adjusted returns than the market. Looking at the downside, the Fund's Sortino ratio of 12.02 versus the Index's 1.34, along with the Fund's down-capture ratio since inception of -123.45%, emphasise the Fund's focus on avoiding downside losses (a negative down-capture ratio indicates that the Fund, on average, has achieved positive performance in the market's negative months). |
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Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund August 2018
13 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The latest Fund Review on Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund is now available. The Fund invests in ASX listed stocks, combining an indexed position in the Top 20 stocks with an actively managed portfolio of ex-20 stocks.
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13 Sep 2018 - Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund August 2018
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - August 2018 (pdf format)
BENNELONG TWENTY20 AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund.
- The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund invests in ASX listed stocks, combining an indexed position in the Top 20 stocks with an actively managed portfolio of stocks outside the Top 20. Construction of the ex-top 20 portfolio is fundamental, bottom-up, core investment style, biased to quality stocks, with a structured risk management approach.
- Mark East, the Fund's Chief Investment Officer, and Keith Kwang, Director of Quantitative Research have over 50 years combined market experience. Bennelong Funds Management (BFM) provides the investment manager, Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) with infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution services.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - August 2018 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
12 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund returned a record +10.59% in August, the Fund's best month since inception in January 2003. The Fund is up +28.97% over the past 12 months, and has returned +16.77% p.a. since inception.
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12 Sep 2018 - Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| 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 Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund returned a record +10.59% in August, the Fund's best month since inception in January 2003. The Fund has returned +28.97% over the past 12 months with an up-capture ratio of +103.97% and a down-capture ratio of -149.86% (a negative down-capture ratio indicates that the Fund, on average, has risen during the market's negative months). Since inception, the Fund has returned +16.77% p.a. versus the Index's +8.32%. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2018
11 Sep 2018 - 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...
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11 Sep 2018 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2018
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - August 2018 (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 15-years' track record and an annualised returns of over 16%.
- The consistent returns across the investment history indicate 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 1.02 and 1.72 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - August 2018 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund
10 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Capital Aware Fund has risen +18.11% over the past 12 months, and +10.35% p.a. since inception in October 2009.
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10 Sep 2018 - Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| 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 of typically 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. At times, Insync may consider holding higher levels of cash if valuations are full and it is difficult to find attractive investment opportunities. When Insync believes markets to be overvalued, it may hold part of its resources in cash, or use derivatives as a way of reducing its equity exposure. Insync may use options, futures and other derivatives to reduce risk or gain exposure to underlying physical investments. The Fund may purchase put options on market indices or specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. |
| Manager Comments | Positive contributions from the Fund's holdings in Alphabet, Microsoft, Amadeus IT and Visa helped offset the Fund's losses, underlining Insync's strong approach to portfolio construction. Insync noted the Fund's core holdings remain, including Facebook. In Insync's view, Facebook exemplifies Insync's disciplined process and unique methodology of assessing ROIC and utilising Megatrends (Insync's unique investment process). Insync believe Facebook remains an excellent quality growth investment. Insync remain positive about their stock holdings and believe they will continue to benefit from global Megatrends. Insync's valuation approach, which seeks to capture the long-term growth of these companies, continues to show a valuation discount. They noted they continue to invest in companies with strong growth prospects and which are less sensitive to market fluctuations. Should the market continue to perform, the Fund will participate in the rally, however, the Fund is also prepared in the event the market suffers a significant correction. |
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Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund July 2018
6 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Capital Aware Fund is now available. The Global Capital Aware Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend...
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6 Sep 2018 - Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund July 2018
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - July 2018 (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL CAPITAL AWARE FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Capital Aware Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Global Capital Aware Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend growth and downside protection.
- Portfolio selection is driven by a core strategy of investing in companies with sustainable growth in dividends, high returns on capital, positive free cash flows and strong balance sheets.
- Emphasis on limiting downside risk is through extensive company research, the ability to hold cash and long protective index put options.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - July 2018 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
5 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund has risen +31.90% over the past year, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +17.31%. Since inception in January 2009, the Fund has returned +18.76% p.a. versus the Index's +11.05%.
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5 Sep 2018 - Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The overriding objective of the Concentrated Australian Equities Fund is to seek investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings, while satisfying our stringent quality criteria. Bennelong's investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis together with proprietary investment tools which are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The portfolio typically consists of 20-35 high-conviction stocks from the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities. Derivative instruments are mainly used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. |
| Manager Comments | In July, the Fund returned -0.21%. At the end of the month the Fund's weightings had been increased in the Discretionary, Health Care and Industrials sectors, and decreased in the Consumer Staples, Materials and Financials sectors. The Fund aims to invest in a concentrated portfolio of high quality companies with strong growth outlooks and underestimated earnings momentum and prospects. By comparison with the Fund's benchmark (ASX300 Accumulation Index), the portfolio's holdings, on average, have a higher return on equity and lower debt/equity (Premium Quality), higher sales growth and higher EPS growth (Superior Growth), as well as higher price/earnings and lower dividend yield (Reasonable Valuation). The portfolio consists of a selection of 22 stocks out of a universe of 297. |
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Performance Report: Touchstone Index Unaware Fund
4 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Touchstone Index Unaware Fund rose +1.47% in July, slightly outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index. Since inception in April 2016, the Fund has returned +13.36% per annum.
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4 Sep 2018 - Performance Report: Touchstone Index Unaware Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The portfolio is constructed using Touchstone's Quality-At-a-Reasonable-Price ('QARP') investment process. QARP is a fundamental bottom-up process, however, it also incorporates a top-down risk management framework designed to successfully manage the portfolio during varying market conditions and economic cycles. The Touchstone Fund is concentrated, typically holding between 15-20 stocks. No individual stock will ever make up more than 10% of the portfolio at any one time. The Investment Manager may temporarily exceed the exposure limits of the Fund occasionally, particularly during periods of market volatility, to allow for holdings in excess of this 10% limit where the increase in value of the underlying security is due to market movement. The Fund may also hold between 0-50% of the portfolio in cash. The Fund has a high level of associated risk, therefore, the minimum suggested investment time-frame is 5 years. |
| Manager Comments | At the end of the month the Fund held 20 stocks with an median position size of 4.7%. Overall, the portfolio's holdings had an average price/earnings of 15.8, EPS growth of 15.1%, tangible ROE of 19.8% and dividend yield of 4.8%. The Touchstone Index Unaware Fund primarily selects stocks from the S&P/ASX 300 Index and typically holds 10-30 stocks. It seeks to invest in reasonably priced, good quality companies with a significant share of expected returns coming from sustainable dividends. |
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Performance Report: Wheelhouse Global Equities Income Fund
3 Sep 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Wheelhouse Global Equities Income Fund rose +1.36% in July, taking the Fund's 12-month return to +16.41%.
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3 Sep 2018 - Performance Report: Wheelhouse Global Equities Income Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | To pursue this objective, the Investment Manager is responsible for actively managing, monitoring and tailoring the integration of derivative contracts alongside the Morningstar Portfolio, while taking into account changing market and stock specific conditions. The Investment Manager is responsible for maximising the structural benefits of short option positions (lowered Volatility, improved capital preservation, higher income generation), whilst mitigating, minimising and monitoring the structural negatives (variable market exposure, option expiries, collateral management and asymmetric return profiles). In addition, long derivatives positions are also used to enhance the capital preservation characteristics of the Fund in more extreme market movements. As a consequence of the integration of Derivatives, returns of the strategy, intra-cycle, are expected to vary from the underlying Morningstar Portfolio due to these characteristics. For example in weak markets, or in extended sideways markets, the Fund is expected to outperform relative to the Morningstar Portfolio. Conversely in strong positive markets the Fund is expected to underperform. |
| Manager Comments | Over the past 12 months and since inception, the Fund has maintained lower volatility than the market. In addition, the Fund has captured 66.4% of the markets upside and only 1.1% of its downside over the past 12 months. Top performers in July included IQVIA Holdings, Pfizer, Transdigm Group, United Technologies and Eli Lilly. Detractors included Polaris Industries, Twenty-First Century Fox, Julius Baer Gruppe, Facebook and Kao Corp. |
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Performance Report: Quay Global Real Estate Fund
31 Aug 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Quay Global Real Estate Fund has returned +14.47% per annum since inception in July 2014 versus the Global Equity benchmark's return of +13.81% p.a. over the same period.
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31 Aug 2018 - Performance Report: Quay Global Real Estate Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund will invest in a number of global listed real estate companies, groups or funds. The investment strategy is to make investments in real estate securities at a price that will deliver a real, after inflation, total return of 5% per annum (before costs and fees), inclusive of distributions over a longer-term period. The Investment Strategy is indifferent to the constraints of any index benchmarks and is relatively concentrated in its number of investments. The Fund is expected to own between 20 and 40 securities, and from time to time up to 20% of the portfolio maybe invested in cash. The Fund is $A un-hedged. |
| Manager Comments | Quay have been satisfied with their investees' results throughout reporting season. Most of the Fund's investees are meeting or exceeding Quay's expectations and lifting guidance. They highlight the sharp decline in new home sales in the US (an eight month low) as rising construction costs and higher interest rates reduce affordability. Quay see that this is an indication the environment is ripe for the residential accommodation sector. They're beginning to see this play out in recent results, with Multifamily/Apartment REITs reporting a clear improvement in rental growth occupancy. Quay believe that the industrial sector is the most likely real estate sector to be impacted by trade and tariffs. However, the Fund's exposure is relatively small due to near euphoric valuation and a clear surge in new supply, particularly in the US. |
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