Performance Report: Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund

25 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund returned +1.61% in December, taking annualised performance since inception in October 2008 to +8.53% with a volatility of 6.05%.

25 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	25 January 2018
Manager	Pengana Capital
Fund Name	Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	1.61%
Latest 6 Months	4.89%
Latest 12 Months	8.27%
Latest 24 Months	5.99%
Annualised Since Inception	8.53%
Inception Date	01 September 2010
FUM (millions)	AU$34.2
Fund Overview	The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund employs an event-driven investment strategy that seeks to exploit the mispricing of securities of companies involved in corporate transactions within the Asian (including Japan, Australia and New Zealand) region. Event driven strategies involve investing in opportunities created by significant transactional events, such as mergers and acquisitions, earnings surprises, capital management initiatives, capital structure arbitrage and index changes, among others. The Fund believes that significant corporate events can often create inefficiency in a company's share price which the Fund then seeks to exploit. The Fund aims to generate consistently positive returns which have a low correlation to the Asian stock markets. The objective to generate a net annualised return greater than 5% above the Reserve Bank of Australia's Cash Rate Target over a 3 to 5 year period with low volatility and low correlation to Asian stock markets. The Fund will usually hold 40 to 80 positions and will be well diversified across the various event strategies. In keeping with the absolute return focus the Manager will eliminate market risk where appropriate by hedging market and foreign currency risks. Since inception the Fund has averaged a net equity market exposure of ~10%. Sizing of an investment position will depend on the expected risk adjusted returns while taking account the liquidity and volatility of the stock. In addition, the maximum potential loss on any one position should be greater than 0.5% of the NAV and the position should not exceed 30% participation of stressed volume assuming a $200m NAV. Other criteria considered are ability to hedge and the availability of pair candidates as well as the average bid-ask size. For M&A strategies average long position is 3 to 5.5% and average short position 2 to 5%.
Manager Comments	The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund returned +1.61% in December, taking annualised performance since inception in October 2008 to +8.53% with a volatility of 6.05%. By contrast, the Asia Pacific Index has returned +6.93% per annum with a volatility of 11.42% over the same period. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios since inception indicate that, on average, the Fund has achieved moderate positive performance in rising markets and has significantly outperformed in falling markets. M&A, Directional and Relative Value strategies all contributed positively for the month. The M&A sub-strategy contributed +0.8%, with a 2017 total contribution of +6.4%. The largest contributor for December was Hutchison Telecom (+10.2%). The Relative Value book contributed +0.5%, the largest contributor was the Fund's long/short position in long SG Holdings / short Yamato Holdings. The Directional Alpha book contributed +0.9% for the month. Key contributors included China Foods (+18.4%), China Travel (+15%) and Wagners Holdings (+28%), whilst the key detractor was Softbank (-6.0%).
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund

24 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The NWQ Fiduciary Fund returned +2.80% in December and finished the 2017 calendar year up +12.62% versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +11.80%.

24 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	24 January 2018
Manager	NWQ Capital Management Pty Ltd
Fund Name	NWQ Fiduciary Fund
Strategy	Multi Strategy
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	2.80%
Latest 6 Months	9.53%
Latest 12 Months	12.63%
Latest 24 Months	4.70%
Annualised Since Inception	7.35%
Inception Date	16 January 2018
FUM (millions)	AU$91
Fund Overview	The NWQ Fiduciary Fund (Fund), managed by NWQ Capital Management, is a diversified multi-manager portfolio, modelled on NWQ's Fiduciary Model Portfolio. The principal investment objective of the Fund is to produce attractive positive returns irrespective of market direction. This is achieved through active allocations to selective fund managers that employ a variety of traditional and absolute return strategies. The Fund places emphasis on managers who demonstrate a rigorous and repeatable investment process that has delivered a strong track record. The Fund aims to produce returns, after management fees and expenses of between 8% to 11% p.a. over rolling five-year periods. Furthermore, the Fund aims to achieve these returns with volatility that is a fraction of the Australian equity market, in order to smooth returns for investors.
Manager Comments	The NWQ Fiduciary Fund returned +2.80% in December, taking 12-month performance to +12.62% with a volatility of 3.39%. The ASX200 Accumulation Index has returned +11.80% with a volatility of 6.30% over the same period. The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios for performance since inception in May 2013 are 0.98 and 1.97 respectively, superior to the Index's Sharpe ratio of 0.55 and Sortino ratio of 0.78 for performance over the same period. The recent strong performance of the Fund's underlying managers continued with positive contributions to overall performance made by each underlying manager. The Fund's Beta managers benefited from the tailwinds of rising equity markets in December and both the Alpha and Beta managers made gains on favourable stock-specific developments over the course of the month. NWQ believe with the prospect of global interest rate normalisation--led by the US--ahead in 2018, equity market volatility is likely to increase from its current historic lows. The market neutral or 'hedged' profile of the Fund means that it is appropriately positioned should this heightened volatility materialise.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund

23 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund rose +1.67% in December The Fund has returned +19.13% over the past 12 months, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +7.33%.

23 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	23 January 2018
Manager	Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP), a Bennelong boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
Strategy	Equity Long
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	1.67%
Latest 6 Months	8.96%
Latest 12 Months	19.13%
Latest 24 Months	21.91%
Annualised Since Inception	13.88%
Inception Date	30 January 2009
FUM (millions)	AU$353.05
Fund Overview	Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) is a boutique asset manager offering Australian equities solutions for institutional and retail clients. The business was founded in 2008 by Paul Cuddy and Mark East, in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management. Prior to establishing BAEP, Paul and Mark were Co-Heads of Australian Equities at ING Investment Management. The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund seeks quality investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings. The investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis with proprietary investment tools that are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The investment team manages an extensive company/industry contact program which helps identify and verify various investment opportunities. The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to the ASX-listed securities. The Fund typically holds between 25-60 stocks with a maximum net targeted position of an individual stock of 6%.
Manager Comments	The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund rose +1.67% in December The Fund has returned +19.13% over the past 12 months, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +7.33% with slightly lower volatility than the market. Since inception in February 2009, the Fund has returned +13.88% per annum versus the Index's +11.12% per annum. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios since inception indicate that, on average, the Fund has outperformed in both rising and falling markets. Over the quarter, top contributors included Treasury Wine Estates, Costa Group and Aristocrat Leisure. Detractors included Reliance Worldwide and Flight Centre. The Fund's underweight position in the Resource and Energy sectors also detracted from relative performance. Bennelong noted portfolio positioning has remained unchanged since the Fund's last quarterly report. The Fund has a heavy concentration to 'all weather' businesses selling relatively defensive products or services and a heavy concentration in global businesses. The Manager remains wary of domestic cyclicals such as retailers, media companies, builders and industrials. The Fund has very little exposure to the banks, commodities companies and selective exposure to bond proxies. The Manager also noted they're unexcited by most blue chips due to their lack of growth.
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Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund

22 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund returned +2.95% in December, taking 12-month performance to +16.33%.

22 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	22 January 2018
Manager	Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP), a Bennelong boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
Strategy	Equity Long
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	2.95%
Latest 6 Months	10.69%
Latest 12 Months	16.33%
Latest 24 Months	24.95%
Annualised Since Inception	10.86%
Inception Date	02 December 2015
FUM (millions)	AU$1.84
Fund Overview	The Fund aims to outperform the return of the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index by 2% per annum after fees on a rolling three-year basis by combining indexed positions in the S&P/ASX 20 stocks with an actively managed exposure in primarily Australian stocks that are outside the S&P/ASX 20. The Fund is managed as one portfolio but comprises and combines two separately managed exposures: 1. An investment in the top 20 stocks of the markets, which the Fund achieves by taking an indexed position in the S&P/ASX 20 Index; and 2. An investment in the stocks beyond the S&P/ASX 20 Index. This exposure is managed on an active basis using a fundamental core approach. The Fund may also invest in securities expected to be listed on the ASX, securities listed or expected to be listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities.Derivative instruments may be used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. The Fund typically holds between 40-55 stocks and thus is considered to be highly concentrated. This means that investors should expect to see high short-term volatility. The Fund seeks to achieve growth over the long-term, therefore the minimum suggested investment timeframe is 5 years.
Manager Comments	The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund returned +2.95% in December, taking 12-month performance to +16.33% with a volatility of 6.08%. By contrast, the ASX200 Accumulation Index has returned +11.80% with a volatility of 6.30% over the same period. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios since inception show that, on average, the Fund has outperformed in both rising and falling markets. Over the quarter the Fund outperformed the Index by +1.17%. Top contributors were BWX Limited, Experience Co, Costa Group and Aristocrat Leisure. Detractors included Reliance Worldwide and Flight Centre as well as the Fund's underweight position in the Resources and Energy sectors. Bennelong believe investors have become less cautious since the Fund's last quarterly report, pointing specifically to the recent demand for lithium stocks, disruptive technology names, pre-revenue concept stocks and bitcoin. They believe in these cases value seems to be largely in the eye of the beholder rather than any observable fundamentals. Bennelong see the greatest risk to equities at present to be a rise in interest rates and tightening of liquidity. Their view is that rates may lift, but not dramatically so.
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Performance Report: Allard Investment Fund

19 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Allard Investment Fund fell -1.42% in December. The Fund has returned +12.16% over the past 12 months versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +11.80%.

19 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Allard Investment Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	19 January 2018
Manager	Allard Partners Management Limited
Fund Name	Allard Investment Fund
Strategy	Equity Long
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	-1.42%
Latest 6 Months	5.21%
Latest 12 Months	12.16%
Latest 24 Months	22.53%
Annualised Since Inception	9.23%
Inception Date	01 July 2003
FUM (millions)	AU$161
Fund Overview	Allard Partners is an absolute return, long only equity investor with a single mission to provide its clients with a net compound rate of return on their capital of 15% per annum over the long term. With offices in Hong Kong, India and Australia, Allard invests in quoted companies in the Asia Pacific region. Allard's investment approach has remained consistent throughout their history: That is to invest prudently but proactively in well-managed businesses that achieve superior returns on capital in industries with long-term growth potential. The Manager uses both broad top-down guidance and detailed bottom-up analysis to identify suitable markets, industries and companies. Although long only investors, a critical factor in their strategy and performance is the ability to hold cash when they cannot find companies that meet their criteria or are at a sufficient discount to their valuations.
Manager Comments	The Allard Investment Fund fell -1.42% in December. The Fund has returned +12.16% over the past 12 months versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +11.80%. The Fund's 12-month up-capture and down-capture ratios indicate that, on average, the Fund has achieved positive performance in rising markets and significantly outperformed when the market has fallen. The Fund's latest report shows that holdings in Cash and Fixed Income have increased to 22.2% from 20.7% as at the end of November. The portfolios weightings were decreased in the Industrials, IT, Health Care, Utilities, Telco, Real Estate and Financial sectors while the Fund increased its Consumer Discretionary sector weighting. The portfolio remains highly concentrated, with 53% of NAV held in the Fund's top 10 stocks. Geographically, Hong Kong and China make up most of the portfolio (44.9%), followed by Singapore (13.0%), India (10.8%), Korea (4.9%), Indonesia (2.1%), Australia (1.1%) and Vietnam (1.0%).
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Performance Report: ARCO Absolute Trust (formerly Optimal)

18 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The ARCO Absolute Trust returned + 1.76% in December, taking 12-month performance to +8.47% and marking 10 consecutive years of positive performance.

18 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: ARCO Absolute Trust (formerly Optimal)

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	18 January 2018
Manager	ARCO Investment Management
Fund Name	ARCO Absolute Trust (formerly Optimal)
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	1.76%
Latest 6 Months	7.33%
Latest 12 Months	8.47%
Latest 24 Months	13.61%
Annualised Since Inception	8.53%
Inception Date	15 September 2008
FUM (millions)	AU$138
Fund Overview	The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to achieve above average returns in absolute terms, through investing in listed securities in Australia and New Zealand, subject to the overarching requirement of capital preservation. Investments will predominantly be in equity securities but may include fixed interest instruments, money market instruments, derivatives and foreign exchange contracts. The Fund's bias is likely to be net long under normal market conditions, with the core strategy being to construct a portfolio of listed equity securities priced at levels that do not adequately reflect their underlying value. The Fund will seek to boost returns and limit potential market downside by selective short selling of individual stocks which are priced at levels that are viewed as materially above their underlying value. The Fund will also use certain trading strategies both within its core portfolio (through rebalancing stock weights and overall market exposure in response to price movements) and in certain other situations (typically of a shorter-duration and/or opportunistic nature) with the objective of further increasing returns. *Formerly the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
Manager Comments	The ARCO Absolute Trust returned +1.76% in December, taking 12-month performance to +8.47% and marking 10 consecutive years of positive performance since inception in September 2008. The Fund has returned +8.53% p.a. with a volatility of 3.74% since inception. By contrast, the ASX200 Accumulation Index has returned +6.46% p.a. with a volatility of 13.66% over the same period. The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios are 1.39 and 3.01 respectively, superior to the Index's Sharpe ratio of 0.30 and Sortino ratio of 0.33. The portfolio's long positions dominated December's performance result. The Fund's resources exposure drove solid returns, with contributions from BHP, LYC, ORE and TAW. WFD and TLS also contributed positively. AHG and QUB were modest negative performers in the long portfolio, however, ARCO retain their conviction in these stocks with a positive outlook. The Fund's short portfolio contributed negatively overall, with select insurance and industrial shorts being the principal detractors. ARCO noted that they retain their cautious view of the local banking sector which they expect to continue to struggle in 2018 with low earning growth, adverse credit quality, restructuring and political risks representing headwinds blowing strongly in the face of still attractive dividend yields.
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Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund December 2017

17 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

Latest Fund Review on Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund is now available.

Fund Review: ARCO Absolute Trust December 2017

16 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

Read the latest Fund Review on ARCO Absolute Trust.

Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund December 2017

15 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

Latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund is now available.

Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund

12 Jan 2018 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Cyan C3G Fund returned +4.24% in December, taking 12-month performance to +33.71% and annualised performance since inception to +29.03%.

12 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	12 January 2018
Manager	Cyan Investment Management
Fund Name	Cyan C3G Fund
Strategy	Equity Long
Latest Return Date	December 2017
Latest Return	4.24%
Latest 6 Months	23.89%
Latest 12 Months	33.71%
Latest 24 Months	53.49%
Annualised Since Inception	29.03%
Inception Date	24 July 2014
FUM (millions)	AU$33
Fund Overview	The Cyan C3G Fund operates as a wholesale unregistered managed investment scheme under a unit trust structure. The Fund primarily invests in ASX listed companies outside the ASX 100 and typically holds between 15-35 stocks. Cyan C3G Fund is based on the investment philosophy which can be defined as a comprehensive, clear and considered process focused on delivering growth. These are identified through stringent filter criteria and a rigorous research process. The Manager uses a proprietary stock filter in order to eliminate a large proportion of investments due to both internal characteristics (such as gearing levels or cash flow) and external characteristics (such as exposure to commodity prices or customer concentration). Typically, the Fund looks for businesses that are one or more of: a) under researched, b) fundamentally undervalued, c) have a catalyst for re-rating. The Manager seeks to achieve this investment outcome by actively managing a portfolio of Australian listed securities. When the opportunity to invest in suitable securities cannot be found, the manager may reduce the level of equities exposure and accumulate a defensive cash position. Whilst it is the company's intention, there is no guarantee that any distributions or returns will be declared, or that if declared, the amount of any returns will remain constant or increase over time. The Fund does not invest in derivatives and does not use debt to leverage the Fund's performance. However, companies in which the Fund invests may be leveraged.
Manager Comments	The Cyan C3G Fund returned +4.24% in December, taking annualised performance since inception to +29.03% versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's annualised return of +6.96%. The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios since inception are 2.30 and 7.34 respectively, superior to the Index's Sharpe ratio of 0.45 and Sortino ratio of 0.62 for performance over the same period. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios since inception indicate that, on average, the Fund has outperformed in both rising and falling markets. Positive contributors included Afterpay Touch (+20%), Bluesky Alternative (+13%), Kelly Partners (+9%) and Motorcycle Holdings (+7%). Positions in Longtable (LON) and Credible (CRD) also contributed positively. Top contributors over 2017 included Afterpay Touch (+136%), Bluesky (+108%), PSI Insurance (+63%), Experience Co. (+40%), Kelly Partners (+74%), Moelis (+62%), Motorcycle Holdings (+22%) and Family Zone (+86%). Cyan noted the Fund remains well diversified with 26 individual holdings and no position accounting for more than 7% of the total Fund. The weighted average market cap is approximately $300m and all have met or exceeded recent expectations for business performance. In addition, they all contain what Cyan believe to be positive business catalysts over the short to medium term. The Fund continues to hold a significant defensive cash balance (currently over 35%) which Cyan will look to carefully deploy as opportunities arise.
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25 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund

24 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund

23 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund

22 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund

19 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Allard Investment Fund

18 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: ARCO Absolute Trust (formerly Optimal)

17 Jan 2018 - Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund December 2017

16 Jan 2018 - Fund Review: ARCO Absolute Trust December 2017

ARCO ABSOLUTE TRUST (formerly Optimal Australia Absolute Trust)

15 Jan 2018 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund December 2017

12 Jan 2018 - Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund

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