NEWS
Totus Alpha Fund
25 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Totus Alpha Fund returned 1.84% during May and one year rolling returns are 17.34%.
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25 Jun 2013 - Totus Alpha Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is a long/short investment fund principally investing in listed entities, commodities, futures and options in Australia and internationally. The Fund is not a market neutral fund and accordingly may switch between net long positions and net short positions. The Fund may use short sales and derivatives as determined by Totus Capital. Gearing may be used to enhance returns and the Fund may be geared in excess of 100% of the Fund's Net Asset Value. There is a limit to net exposure of 150%. |
| Manager Comments | Since inception the fund has averaged returns of +1.45% (net) in months in which the ASX was up and +1.63% (net)in months in which the ASX was down. May was a difficult month for many of the long positions as the backup in bond yields globally led investors to dump yield plays around the world and Australia was not spared. The Manager is of the view that the risk to interest rates in Australia post the mining boom remains to the downside and therefore the sell-off in a number of Australian yield plays was probably overdone. A number of high PE "market darling" stocks were also sold off during the month and the Manager used the sell off as an opportunity to add selectively to positions in the online and high growth/high return mid cap space. The fund's short positions in second and third tier mining and mining services stocks continued to deliver strong returns during May while the (more) recently added domestic cyclical shorts also contributed nicely to performance. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund
24 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund returned -4.05% during May and 10.51% for the last six months.
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24 Jun 2013 - Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund focuses on fundamental long and short investments. The Fund may utilise a multi-strategy approach if short term opportunities to increase returns, hedge the portfolio, protect capital or minimise volatility are found. The Fund is a high conviction fund and the combined portfolio will typically have 25-45 positions, investing primarily in stocks in the ASX200. The Fund may be net long, short or neutral depending on the strategies employed at the time. The Fund may hold cash so that it is in a position to take advantage of market volatility and compelling investment opportunities as and when they arise. The Fund may be geared up to 200% gross long or short and up to 150% net long or short. |
| Manager Comments | Average gross capital employed by the Fund was 162.3% long and 31.2% short. Average net exposure over the month was +131.1%. At the end of the month the Fund had 25 long positions and 14 short positions. The Fund's biggest exposures at month end were spread across the consumer discretionary, financials, utilities telecommunications and materials sectors. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund
24 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for Insync Global Titans Fund, showing KPI's for May 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.
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24 Jun 2013 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund Review - May 2013 (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 aspects of the Fund:
- Boutique Sydney-based fund manager established in 2009 with an investment team of 3, with additional input from the CEO who is
- responsible for all operational, risk and compliance management.
- The Global Titans Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-25 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong
- focus on valuation 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 through extensive company research, the ability to hold cash and long protective index put options.
- Strong track record of above MSCI ($A) benchmark performance with limited drawdowns.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund Review - May 2013 (pdf format)
Monash Absolute Investment Fund
21 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Monash Absolute Investment Fund returned -1.10% during May and 13.87% over the last six months.
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21 Jun 2013 - Monash Absolute Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund places a high priority on capital preservation, and have an absolute return focus in accepting market risk. The Manager employs a comprehensive approach to making investment decisions utilising value, growth and discounted cash flow styles. The portfolio is somewhat concentrated and the manager looks to diversify the portfolio across industries and themes rather than staying near an index. The portfolio may at times have a large amount of cash or other protection. |
| Manager Comments | Despite a difficult month for stocks in Australia the portfolio fell only 1.1% in May and is up 17.3% for the financial year. During the month the portfolio benefited from a positive announcement from NextDC and participation in a number of placements and IPOs. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Pengana Asia Special Events Fund
21 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Pengana Asia Special Events Fund recorded 1.63% during May and has a twelve month performance record of 11.79%.
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21 Jun 2013 - Pengana Asia Special Events Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund seeks to profit from trading securities which are primarily subject to corporate events or from trading-related securities which the Investment Manager believes are mispriced by the market. The Fund invests in securities that are listed on Asian stock markets and other markets where related securities may be listed and in securities which are listed on markets outside of Asia where more than 70% (by assets or earnings) of the underlying business originates from an Asian country. The Fund aims to generate consistently positive returns which have a low correlation to the Asian stock markets. The objective is to generate 10-20% pa with a standard deviation of 6-10% |
| Manager Comments | The rally in the Japanese market came to an abrupt end as the Nikkei recorded the first negative month of the year driven primarily by the volatility in the JGB yields and the Yen. Investors started to question the sustainability of the stimulus driven rally and this volatility presented both challenges and opportunities for the Fund. The Fund also observed \'yield plays\' such as REITs, Telcos and the Aussie dollar coming under pressure during the month.Deal activity particularly in Japan picked up significantly, with May being the most active month in terms of deal count for the year. The volatility in the Japanese market will continue to offer great trading opportunities around the recently announced transactions. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
18 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund, showing KPI's for May 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.
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18 Jun 2013 - Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
AURORA FORTITUDE ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- ASX listed Aurora Funds Limited established on the merger of three existing fund management businesses, managing approx. $550m on behalf of more than 2,500 retail and wholesale investors.
- The Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (AFARF) has a 8 year track record investing in ASX listed equities. CIO John Corr has over 20 years financial market experience with a strong focus on risk.
- A Market Neutral overlay is used across a multi strategy approach which allows for flexible asset allocation to maximise returns and minimise risk under a variety of market conditions and cycles.
- Strong use of low risk "long" derivatives and option overlays has provided positive returns with low volatility during periods of market dislocation.
- Over 86% of monthly performances have been positive, with no losing months in 2008 and a largest drawdown of -2.09%.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
Pengana Australian Equities Fund
18 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Pengana Australian Equities Fund recorded -1.3% during May and 25.66% for the last twelve months.
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18 Jun 2013 - Pengana Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | As at 31st May, cash (including notes and preference shares) represented 31% of the Fund. The top five holdings by value were: DUET Group, Caltex, ANZ Bank, Telstra and Resmed. The Fund acquired two new holdings, namely the Australian wagering operator, Tabcorp Holdings, and the New Zealand based retirement village developer and operator, Summerset. In addition, the Fund took advantage of the lower prices to add to existing holdings in Mermaid Marine, Caltex, Woolworths, DUET Group and Telstra. The Fund's exposure to non-Australian dollar earnings streams (inclusive of companies with global earnings profiles such as Resmed and News Corporation, NZ based companies and US dollar exposure) stands at 19%. The Fund disposed of its holding in Fairfax and took advantage of higher prices to lighten its exposure to Seven Group, Ainsworth Gaming, AMP and McMillan Shakespeare. Australian businesses are still fighting cyclical and structural factors such as a cautious consumer, the impact of a lack of confidence in Government policy decisions (exaggerated by a prolonged election campaign), an unseasonably warm start to winter and the increasing number of large companies announcing intentions to shrink their work forces. While the lower Australian dollar will provide some relief for export focussed businesses (including the agricultural, tourism and education industries) this may take some time to work its way through the system. We have become less optimistic on the short to medium term outlook for discretionary spending and employment levels. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
17 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned 0.78% during May and 5.79% over the last 12 months.
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17 Jun 2013 - Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund aims to produce positive returns irrespective of the direction of the share market. For each investment the manager considers the risk, the timeline of that risk occurring and then the potential return. Low transaction costs and liquidity are other important factors in the success and implementation of the strategies. |
| Manager Comments | low volatility at 2.84% pa (since inception) as compared to the S&P/ASX 200AI volatility of 14.58%. Despite an official interest rate cut to levels not seen since the 1960's the ASX200 AI fell 4.5% during May and the Australian dollar dropped 7.7% against the US dollar. The major concern appeared to be a slowing Chinese economy and thefollow on effect to Australian economy. Mergers and Acquisitions was the best performing strategy for the month (+0.32%)Long/Short was the only negative performer for the month (0.16%). The strategy consisted of small positions that were predominantly long and hence performed poorly,in line with market conditions. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Insync Global Titans Fund
14 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Titans Fund delivered 4.8% during May bringing its since inception (October 2009) return to 9.5% pa.
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14 Jun 2013 - Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | Key positive contributions came from our holdings in Sanofi, Oracle, BAT, GlaxoSmithKline and IBM, with BSkyB being the sole detractor. However, the main driver of the Fund's return in May came from the 7.7% depreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar. With the Fund's currency exposure 100% unhedged,the Fund benefited from the AUD's fall (and remains currency unhedged). Despite the strong absolute performance in May, the relative performance of the Fund against the equity benchmark was impacted by the rotation from defensive stocks to financial and cyclical stocks. Insync's philosophy is to invest in the more predictable growth companies and to include downside protection strategies. That has delivered positive absolute returns during previous market downturns. The Fund's average investment market cap is A$103.4bn and the weighted avg forecast dividend yield is 2.97%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review:Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
14 Jun 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for Morphic Global Opportunities Fund, showing KPI's for May 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.
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14 Jun 2013 - Fund Review:Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
MORPHIC GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund:
- The Morphic Global Opportunities Fund is an early stage, boutique, Sydney-based fund established in 2012 with experienced CIO's, and an investment team of 6 including a risk manager.
- The Board has a majority of independent members with significant risk and investment experience.
- The Fund is a global equity long/short manager with a long bias and a macro-economic overlay. The mandate allows the Fund to short sell, use derivatives and invest in assets such as commodities & currencies.
- Portfolio construction is stock selection agnostic with a bias to valuebased and momentum strategies. Risk management is a primary consideration in portfolio construction.
- Morphic's philosophy is that only funds with flexible hedging strategies will be able to deliver acceptable, steady, real, absolute returns over the investment cycle.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
