NEWS
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust June 2015
16 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review on Optimal Australian Absolute Trust Fund. For the June quarter, the Trust
returned a net +2.9%, against a 6.5% fall in the market
returned a net +2.9%, against a 6.5% fall in the market
Read more...
16 Jul 2015 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust June 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
OPTIMAL AUSTRALIA ABSOLUTE TRUST
AFM have released the most recently updated Fund Review on the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Optimal Australia is a specialist Australian equity investment manager and the Fund has a long/short equity strategy typically with a low but variable net market exposure comprising 40 to 65 stocks broadly selected from within the ASX200.
- The investment team comprising George Colman, Peter Whiting supported by Stephen Nicholls and Justin Hay have over 100 years combined experience in equity markets.
- The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.46 (Index 0.26), Sortino ratio of 3.16 (Index 0.18), both of which are well above the ASX 200 Accumulation Index and has recorded 80% positive months.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
15 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund performed strongly in June with a return of +4.86%, it's best
monthly result since May 2013.
monthly result since May 2013.
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15 Jul 2015 - 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. |
| Manager Comments | Performance was broad-based with 20 pairs generating a profit versus 10 negative pairs. Short positions were key to performance during the month with each of the top three pairs driven by the short side. Two specific names thatworked well on the short side were Nine Entertainment Co (-27.9%) and Flight Centre (-26.7%) as both companies issued material profit warnings during the month. Click below to read the Fund Manager's complete commentary and future market outlook. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Monash Absolute Investment Fund June 2015
14 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review with statistics since inception on Monash Absolute Investment Fund.
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14 Jul 2015 - Fund Review: Monash Absolute Investment Fund June 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Monash Absolute Investment Fund Review June 2015 (pdf format)
MONASH ABSOLUTE INVESTMENT FUND
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund:
- The Fund is a research driven, active equity long/short strategy investing in listed ASX companies.
- The Fund seeks to identify opportunities in the share market to make positive returns (long and short) irrespective of market conditions. It is style agnostic, as compelling investment opportunities exist across all investment styles from time to time. The Fund places a high priority on capital preservation, and has an absolute return focus in accepting market risk.
If you have any questions in relation to the Fund Review, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Monash Absolute Investment Fund Review June 2015 (pdf format)
The Paragon Fund
14 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Fund returned -3.80% versus the ASX 200 Total Return Index's -5.30%, for the month of June 2015. The Fund's annual return since inception has been 18.82% p.a. versus the Index's 7.46% p.a.
Read more...
14 Jul 2015 - The Paragon Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Paragon believes that markets are not always efficient, exhibiting a common tendency to price securities well outside of their intrinsic value over the medium term. This market characteristic provides the opportunity for Paragon, an active manager with a flexible mandate, to generate superior investment returns over the longer term. Paragon believes that it is critical to understand both the companies and the industries in which they operate, in order to fully comprehend each investment opportunity. Accordingly, a fundamental approach to company research is taken. Assessing the potential downside is also paramount in framing the risk/reward trade-off for potential investments. |
| Manager Comments | Key positive contributors for June included Yowie, Adairs, Senetas, St. Barbara and short positions in Wesfarmers and Origin. These were offset by the Fund's net positive equity exposure, and holdings in Orocobre, IOOF, and Fortescue (FMG sold for a small overall gain). At the end of the month the Fund had 28 long positions and 15 short positions. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's commentary. |
| More Information |
Allard Investment Fund
13 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Allard Investment Fund's (AIF), net of all fees, decreased 3.1% during the month of June 2015 (Index -5.30%).
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13 Jul 2015 - Allard Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Fund portfolio was invested 76.5% in equities and 23.5% in cash and fixed income. The Fund continues to be most exposed to Financial Services at 18.30%, Conglomerates at 11.30% and Telco's at 10.60%. The geographic breakdown was Hong Kong / China at 42.50%, Singapore 11.20% and Korea 9.60%. The top 5 holdings had 39.9% concentration of the portfolio and 17.0% in the next 5 holdings. Click below to review the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
| More Information |
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
10 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust reported a net return of -1.1% in June, in a very weak market, with the ASX200 Accumulation Index down 5.30%.
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10 Jul 2015 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund has been running unusually low net market exposure in recent months, and added risk into initial market weakness in June. The Fund's short positions did well, with attribution of +3.3% (on average short exposure of 25% of NAV). However the long positions negatively contributed -4.5% (on average long exposure of 67%. A bias towards low valuations and strong balance sheet quality within the long stocks made little difference in such a weak market. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's commentary on the Fund and market outlook. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund May 2015
9 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Fund review on Supervised High Yield Fund, a fixed income fund, is now available.
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9 Jul 2015 - Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund May 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
SUPERVISED HIGH YIELD FUND
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund:
- The Supervised High Yield Fund (SHYF) has a 6 year track record investing in fixed interest investments. The Investment strategy aims to deliver returns with zero correlation to equity markets by investing in debt securities with minimal default probability and offering a premium return above the risk free rate.
- The Fund is managed by Philip Carden whose experience in debt and capital markets spans 33 years, including time with JB Were's Capel Court Securities and Macquarie Bank, where he was the Executive Director responsible for the Debt Markets Division.
- SHYF is an Alternative Income fund which invests in Global and Australian debt markets, with all foreign currency receivables hedged back to Australian dollars.
- The Fund utilises a top down analysis of the economic environment and market to screen and identify debt market opportunities which it believes offer low risk with high yield. The next stage is the development of a risk matrix and investment strategy, following which detailed research is undertaken on specific investment opportunities which meet the pre-defined criteria established in the investment strategy.
- Prior to approving an investment for the Fund each potential investment is subject to two stress tests. The first of these is for credit and default risk, in which the investment is stress-tested to ensure that in a worst case economic environment it can repay 100% of its principal and interest obligations case scenario for the asset by examining the highest margin over the risk rate that the investment has previously experienced in a crisis situation. Any decline in value under the stress test that exceeds 10% of the Fund's value is avoided The second test examines market risk. In this case Carden looks at the worst case scenario for the asset by examining the highest margin over the risk rate that the investment has previously experienced in a crisis situation. Any decline in value under the stress test that exceeds 10% of the Fund's value is avoided.
Monash Absolute Investment Fund
8 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Monash Absolute Investment Fund fell 1.9% in June, and the Australian equity market was very weak; the top 100 was down over 5% and the small cap index down over 8%.
Read more...
8 Jul 2015 - Monash Absolute Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund seeks to identify opportunities in the share market to make positive returns (long and short) irrespective of market conditions. It is style agnostic, as compelling investment opportunities exist across all investment styles from time to time. The Fund places a high priority on capital preservation, and has an absolute return focus in accepting market risk. The Manager's experience across value, growth and discounted cash flow styles allows them to use a comprehensive approach to investment decisions that applies all three. They also have the patience to seek out only compelling opportunities, rather than settling for relative value. The portfolio is somewhat concentrated, looking to diversify across industries and themes, rather than by trying to stay near an index. The portfolio may at times have a large amount of cash or other protection. However once investments are made turnover may be relatively high in order to lock in gains and avoid losses. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's performance since inception was 14.11% p.a. with annual volatility of 7.79%, bringing the Sharpe ratio and Sortino ratio to 1.54 and 3.12 respectively. The Fund continues to have a low Beta and therefore less volatile than the market. The portfolio had 71% net exposure and 82% gross exposure. Click the link below to the rest of the Fund Manager's Report. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund May 2015
7 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Titans Fund is now available.
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7 Jul 2015 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund May 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund AFM Fund Review May 2015 (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL TITANS FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Titans Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Fund's unit price increased by 3.0% during the month of May. The performance was driven by positive contributions from our holdings in Time Warner Cable, Experian, Medtronic, eBay and Zimmer. The main negative contributors were Hugo Boss and Publicis. The Fund continues to have no foreign currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside.
- The Global Titans 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.
Insync Global Titans Fund AFM Fund Review May 2015 (pdf format)
Fund Review: Totus Alpha Fund May 2015
6 Jul 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
May Fund Review with key statistics for Totus Alpha Fund now available.
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6 Jul 2015 - Fund Review: Totus Alpha Fund May 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund AFM Fund Review May 2015 (pdf format)
TOTUS ALPHA FUND
CPD Points are now available for all AFM Fund Reviews. Read the review and answer 5 questions to earn half a point toward your continuing professional development.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Totus Capital is a Sydney based long short fund manager established in 2012 by Ben McGarry which aims to place equal emphasis on performance and capital preservation. The Fund invests mainly in Australia, but also in other developed economies, with a primary exposure to equity markets.
- The Totus Alpha Fund's investment strategy is to identify structural themes, and then seek to drive performance by investing in securities that have concentrated exposure to those themes. Single stock short positions are used to generate alpha, frequently in under researched parts of the market such as the small and mid-cap space. Index derivatives are used to hedge the portfolio's market risk.
- McGarry qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PWC in 1999 and has 14 years market experience, commencing his career covering European building materials and construction sectors at Morgan Stanley in London. Previous experience included analytical roles at Ausbil, a Sydney based $10bn+ long-only manager, and sell side emerging companies experience at UBS. McGarry's emerging company research with UBS included exposure to a range of sectors including energy, materials, industrials, tech, financials, retail and telecommunications.
- The Fund has delivered an annalised return of 23.31% since inception in March 2012 as compared to 14.43% for the ASX 200 Accumulation Index. The standard deviation has been higher than the Index at 13.39% as compared to 11.05% and the Sharpe ratio is 1.44.
Sean Webster
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund AFM Fund Review May 2015 (pdf format)
