NEWS
Performance Report: Ark Global Fund - Class B AUD Hedged
27 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Ark Global Fund - Class B AUD Hedged rose +2.06% in October, outperforming AFM's Global Equity Index by +2.63% and taking annualised performance since inception in July 2017 to +6.23% with an annualised volatility of 9.25%.
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27 Nov 2020 - Performance Report: Ark Global Fund - Class B AUD Hedged
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The investment objective of the Fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation with low correlation to global equity markets through investment in the Underlying Fund. Fund One is a global macro fund that utilises quantitative research including machine learning techniques and fully automated trading algorithms which will aim to generate positive uncorrelated returns relative to any significant equity benchmark. The traded instruments are either major FX pairs or the most liquid exchange traded stock index, bond, and commodity futures across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The algorithm backtests over 10 years of tick data and in order to do so effectively requires machine learning to filter noise and identify meaningful signals, which results in statistically significant prediction of price movements. In production this processing is done in real time and the portfolio reacts to asset movements by rebalancing automatically to the desired risk exposure through the market impact optimised execution logic. Risk management layers built into the algorithm have been developed using the experience the team has gained from their decades in highly liquid fast-moving markets in the proprietary High Frequency Trading world. This allows the system to trade autonomously but safely to all trading opportunities and potential system issues, and to alert the team to any behaviour outside of strictly controlled bounds. The Fund is a 'feeder fund' which indirectly gains exposure to the underlying assets by investing all or substantially all of its assets in the Underlying Fund. The Fund may retain a certain amount of cash from the investment in the Fund for the purpose of payment of costs, fees, hedging and expenses. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's capacity to significantly outperform in falling markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): average negative monthly return of -1.85% vs the Index's -2.12%, maximum drawdown of -8.14% vs the Index's -13.19%, and down-capture ratio of -51.5%. The Fund's down-capture ratio indicates that, on average, the Fund has risen during the months the market has fallen. The best performing assets for the month were: Nikkei 225 (+1.33% of NAV), Silver (+1.20% of NAV) and 10 Yr Japanese Govt Bond (+1.18% of NAV). The worst performing assets included: Gold (-1.23% of NAV), 10 Yr Canadian Govt Bond (-1.48% of NAV) and Euro Stoxx (-2.13% of NAV). |
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Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
27 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund has returned +15.45% over the past 12 months vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's -8.15%. Since inception in March 2013, the Fund has risen +10.77% p.a. against the Index's annualised return of +6.34%
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27 Nov 2020 - Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| 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 | In October the Fund returned -5.44% with performance impacted by a sharp market sell-off in the last week of the month - the worst-ever loss in the week leading up to a US presidential election. Paragon's view is that the sell-off and rise in volatility was driven by anxiety around the election outcome and it being contested, the next US fiscal stimulus bill delayed until after the election, and further COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe and potentially the USA. Positive contributors for the Fund included a long position in Tesserent and short positions in AFL and Atlas Arteria. These were offset by declines across the remainder of the portfolio. The Fund ended the month with 27 long positions and 6 short positions. Paragon continue to view gold as being in a correction since its August 2020 highs - as it was in Feb-May 2019 and Aug-Nov 2019 before it broke out strongly. |
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Manager Insights | Laureola Advisors
27 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
Damen Purcell, COO of Australian Fund Monitors, speaks with Alex Lee who heads up Investor Relations (Australia & New Zealand) at Laureola Advisors.
The Laureola Investment Fund invests in Life Settlements and looks to provide...
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27 Nov 2020 - Manager Insights | Laureola Advisors
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Damen Purcell, COO of Australian Fund Monitors, speaks with Alex Lee who heads up Investor Relations (Australia & New Zealand) at Laureola Advisors. The Laureola Investment Fund invests in Life Settlements and looks to provide investors with stable, non-correlated returns while generating cash flow from investments that allow the Fund to be used as a Fixed Income Alternative as well as a portfolio diversifier. The Fund has returned +16.59% p.a. since inception in May 2013 with a maximum drawdown of -4.90%. Listen to this interview as a podcast
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Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
27 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund rose 4.07% over the month of October, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 2.14%. Since inception in November 2009, the Fund has returned +9.87% p.a. vs the Index's annualised...
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27 Nov 2020 - Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 | At month-end, the portfolio's weightings had been increased in the Discretionary, IT and Communications sectors, and decreased in the Health Care sector. The Fund has positions in the top 20 stocks and approximately 20-30 ex-20 stocks. Sector exposures will deviate from the benchmark only to the extent that the actively managed investment in ex-20 stocks results in an over of under-weighting to any particular sector. The Fund has a significantly higher weighting towards the Discretionary sector than the benchmark, with an 'Active Weight' of 23.1%; the Discretionary sector makes up 30.9% of the Fund's portfolio but only 7.8% of the benchmark. |
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Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund
27 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Cyan C3G Fund returned -2.02% against the ASX200 Accumulation Index's 1.93%. Including this recent result, the fund has outperformed the ASX 200 Accumulation Index by an average of 2.57% per month for the last 6 months.
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27 Nov 2020 - Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 | Cyan noted the overall monthly figures belie the market volatility which has been an ongoing feature for much of 2020. At one stage during October the Index was up almost 7%, but US election uncertainty, along with some profit taking, saw those early gains pared back significantly by month's end. |
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Manager Insights | Aitken Investment Management
26 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
Damen Purcell, COO of Australian Fund Monitors, speaks with Charlie Aitken, CEO & Portfolio Manager at Aitken Investment Management.
The AIM Global High Conviction Fund was started in 2015 and in 2019 was restructured from a...
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26 Nov 2020 - Manager Insights | Aitken Investment Management
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Damen Purcell, COO of Australian Fund Monitors, speaks with Charlie Aitken, CEO & Portfolio Manager at Aitken Investment Management. The AIM Global High Conviction Fund was started in 2015 and in 2019 was restructured from a currency hedged global long/short fund to an unhedged global long-only equity fund. Since the Fund's change of mandate, it has returned +11.25% p.a., outperforming the global equity index by over 5.5% on an annualised basis. Listen to this interview as a podcast
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Performance Report: Quay Global Real Estate Fund
26 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Quay Global Real Estate Fund returned 0.77% in September outperforming the Global Equity Index which fell -0.57%. The return was assisted by a weaker Australian dollar that added 1.8% to the total return.
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26 Nov 2020 - 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 | At a fund level, self-storage (Europe and US) and industrial continued to perform well. Positions in Hong Kong contributed positively, particularly Hysan, as the region appears to have done well to contain the COVID-19 virus. Conversely, urban residential (Equity Residential) and retail property were a drag on performance. Quay noted that the recent surge (or third wave) of the coronavirus in the Northern Hemisphere is a concern, and as such the portfolio remains defensively positioned. Cash has increased during the month to almost 7%. Part of this reflects dividends received, and part reflect recent net fund flows that they expect to invest in the near term. Quay also highlighted that they believe valuations across many REIT sectors are extremely attractive. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
26 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund returned 2.26% for the month of October outperforming the ASX 200 Accumulation Index which returned 1.93%. Over 12 months to the end of October the fund has returned 12.23% versus the...
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26 Nov 2020 - 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 | The funds portfolio weightings remain significantly overweight to the Discretionary (30.7% active) and Health Care (11.0% active) sectors. Both these active position have increased slightly from the previous month. The fund continues to hold zero exposure to the Communications, Energy and Utilities Sectors with significant underweight exposure to Financials (-19.9%). |
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Performance Report: 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
25 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The 4D Global Infrastructure Fund has returned 7.82% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 12.11% p.a. since inception in March 2016. This return has been achieved with a down-capture ratio of 82.20%, highlighting the Fund's capacity to...
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25 Nov 2020 - Performance Report: 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund will be managed as a single portfolio of listed global infrastructure securities including regulated utilities in gas, electricity and water, transport infrastructure such as airports, ports, road and rail as well as communication assets such as the towers and satellite sectors. The portfolio is intended to have exposure to both developed and emerging market opportunities, with country risk assessed internally before any investment is considered. The maximum absolute position of an individual stock is 7% of the fund. |
| Manager Comments | The strongest performer for October was Chinese gas distributor ENN Energy Holdings up 16.1% for the month as volumes and growth outlook continue to be positive. The weakest performer in October was Brazilian toll road operator Ecorodovias down 15.6% on no stock specific news. 4D noted the stock has been oversold and this is a buying opportunity. 4D continue to position for the prevailing economic outlook and infrastructure as a means of a recovery as they continue to capitalise on the raft of opportunities currently on offer. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
25 Nov 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund rose 3.83% over October, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 1.90%. Over the past 12 months the Fund has returned 16.62%, outperforming the Index by 24.77%. Since inception in February...
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25 Nov 2020 - Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Fund's up-capture ratio of 144.31% and Sortino ratio of 1.10 vs the Index's 0.64 highlights its capacity to significantly outperform in rising markets while avoiding the market's downside volatility. As at the end of the month, the Fund maintains a significant overweight position in the Discretionary sector and significant underweight positions in the Consumer Staples, Industrials and Financials sectors. |
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