NEWS
Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
27 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund rose 0.4% in June, outperforming the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index by 0.23%.
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27 Jul 2017 - Paragon Australian Long Short 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 | The main contributors to the positive result in June were gains in Link Administration, James Hardie, Collins Foods, Updater and Audinate, plus short positions in Stockland and Metals X. At the end of the month the Fund had 36 long positions and 19 short positions. Many of the Fund's strongest performers from FY15 and FY16 partially retreated mainly as a result of market rotation, along with some specific issues, and citing as an example Netcomm Wireless, which had contributed 9% of the Fund's gross performance in FY16 (when the Fund returned a net 37%) giving back 1.7% in FY17. |
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NWQ Fiduciary Fund
27 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
NWQ Fiduciary Fund returned +0.86% in June, taking the Fund's annualised performance since inception in May 2013 to +5.92%.
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27 Jul 2017 - NWQ Fiduciary Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 | Performance of the Fund's underlying managers was broad-based, with nine of the ten delivering a positive return. The Fund's returns were largely driven by its underlying Alpha managers, which collectively contributed +0.75% to overall performance. This performance was complemented by Beta managers, which contributed a solid +0.19%. |
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Affluence Investment Fund
25 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Affluence Investment Fund had a strong June, increasing by 1.1%, taking performance since inception in December 2014 to 9.6% pa with volatility of only 3.1%.
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25 Jul 2017 - Affluence Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund does not invest directly into any asset class, rather, it invests in investment managers which satisfy Affluence Funds Management's investment criteria; its investment philosophy is based on a formula developed by CEO/Portfolio Manager Daryl Wilson since the start of his career in 1999. The Fund targets total returns of at least 5% above inflation over rolling 3 year periods with volatility of returns less than 50% of the ASX200 Index. The Fund also aims to provide investors with a distribution yield of at least 5% p.a. To ensure appropriate diversity of managers and limit the potential for conflicts of interest, no more than 20% of the Fund will be invested with any one external manager. Affluence seeks to achieve the Funds' investment objective by choosing attractively priced investments overseen by quality managers. The Fund uses a number of processes to identify potential investments including quantitative screens for investments which meet historical performance, volatility and other criteria. They also use a number of external researchers and information sources to assist in this process. |
| Manager Comments | In their monthly performance report Affluence stated that valuations for most assets remain relatively high looking forward, but that the portfolio is well positioned for both rises and falls in asset and equity markets, as they continued to focus efforts on making the portfolio as resilient as possible. Notably for a Fund of Funds, Affluence do not charge a management fee, relying on performance fees which the manager feels provides a better alignment of interests with their investors. |
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Cyan C3G Fund
25 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Cyan C3G Fund closed out the financial year on a strong note, rising 2.4% in June and taking the return for the year to 11.4% and 25% p.a. since inception.
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25 Jul 2017 - 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 | Performance was driven by a number of positions including Medical imaging services provider, Capitol Health which rose 38% in June following the the new management team's capital raising to pay down debt, and the sale of its NSW assets. Adding to this a newer holding, MSL Solutions rose 34% in June, while the Fund's investment in Blue Sky Funds continued to provide solid gains as it hit new highs on the back of new institutional mandate wins. Finally the IPO of Kelly Group, a Sydney based consolidator of smaller accounting firms, made a sound market debut almost 30% above its $1.00 issue price. Despite this gain the Manager added to the initial position as the company continued its rise, ending the month at $1.42, providing a healthy gain for the Fund's investors. |
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Allard Investment Fund
24 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Allard's Asian focused long only, absolute return fund dips 2.42% in June, but still returns 16.56% over the previous 12 months.
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24 Jul 2017 - Allard Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 portfolio remains concentrated, reflecting the manager's high conviction approach, with 38% of NAV across the top 5 stocks, 14% allocated to the next five, leaving 27% allocated to the remaining holdings. Geographically the breakdown was heavily weighted to HK and China at 47%, followed by Singapore and India each representing approximately 12% each, and just 1% each to Indonesia and Vietnam. |
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MHOR Australian Small Cap Fund
24 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The MHOR Small Cap Fund returns +2.28% in June, to back up May's result of +3.24% as Small Caps outperformed Large Caps for the second consecutive month...
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24 Jul 2017 - MHOR Australian Small Cap Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | MHOR looks for investment that exhibit the following set of characteristics: -Opportunity - to take advantage of growth and positive alignment with industry themes and trends. -Quality business - competitively advantaged product or service offering. -Financial flexibility - appropriately resourced to capture its opportunity. -Management - with the vision and capability to bring it all together. -Fundamentally undervalued. MHOR also considers labour standards, environmental, social and ethical considerations when making investment decisions but only to the extent that these factors impact the assessment of risk or return. The minimum suggested investment timeframe is 3-5 years. |
| Manager Comments | In June three of the Fund's largest positive contributions came from disruptive gaming company TopBetta Holdings (TBH), Imdex (IMD) a leading provider of drilling fluids and downhole instrumentation to the global minerals industry, and child care provider, G8 Education (GEM). The major detractor for the month was medical device company AirXpanders (AXP). Looking forward the Manager is of the view that many of the macro tailwinds which have driven global equities higher over the past six months appear broadly intact, including the US economic recovery, now in its seventh year, which shows no signs of faltering, (notwithstanding uncertainties surrounding 'Trumponomics'), economic data out of Europe continues to improve, while recent Chinese economic data has also surprised to the upside. |
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Hedge Clippings
21 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
RBA puts the cat amongst the pigeons - and then tries to retrieve it.
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21 Jul 2017 - Hedge Clippings
By: Australian Fund Monitors
RBA puts the cat amongst the pigeons - and then tries to retrieve it.
Most news was pretty normal this week. The Greens lost another couple of senators as they tried to get their act together; The Donald continued his war of words with everyone (possibly with the exception of Mr Putin); and Tony Abbott continued to break his promise of no wrecking and no sniping.
However a couple of things put a rocket up the Aussie dollar, taking it towards the US$0.80 mark when most analysts were probably feeling comfortable that any currency risk was on the downside. Firstly Janet Yellen made some soothing remarks about the potential for rate rises in the US, which had the effect of softening the Greenback. And then the RBA decided to announce that the neutral rate for Australian interest rates should be 3.5%, which, given the current historically low rate of 1.5%, gave the markets a serious case of the jitters.
So much so that Deputy Governor of the RBA, Guy Debelle slipped a retraction, or explanation, into his speech to the CEDA Mid-Year Economic Update in Adelaide today, saying "no significance should be read into the fact that the neutral rate was discussed" and that "at most meetings the Board allocates some time to discussing a policy relevant issue in more detail, and on this occasion it was the neutral rate".
Hedge Clippings' guess is that henceforth the RBA will think twice before announcing all the "policy relevant issues" they discuss at their meetings.
The simple fact is that the prospect of a 200 basis point rise in the official rate from the current level of 1.5% would have more than dampened the "animal spirits" that the Deputy Governor also referred to in his speech as one of the major drivers of economic growth, and therefore RBA's views on monetary policy. It might have solved the current property price problem, but would have created a property crisis of its own in its place.
For those with little to do on a Friday evening, there is a link to the speech here, and it actually makes interesting reading if you enjoy that kind of thing. Assuming it was written well ahead of time, we would imagine that the two sentences regarding the "neutral rate" were probably a late edit, or an addition following the market's reaction.
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
20 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund rose 0.48% in June, taking the annualised return since inception to 10.89% p.a.
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20 Jul 2017 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's discretionary investment strategy commences with a macro view of the economy and direction to establish the portfolio's desired market exposure. Following this detailed sector and company research is gathered from knowledge of the individual stocks in the Fund's universe, with widespread use of broker research. Company visits, presentations and discussions with management at CEO and CFO level are used wherever possible to assess management quality across a range of criteria. Detailed analysis of company valuations using financial statements and forecasts, particularly focusing on free cash flow, is conducted. Technical analysis is used to validate the Manager's fundamental research and valuations and to manage market timing. A significant portion of the Fund's overall performance can be attributed to the attention and importance given to the macro economic outlook and the ability and willingness to adjust the Fund's market risk. |
| Manager Comments | The Manager noted that the Australian market was volatile in June but ended largely flat. The best sectors for the month were Health Care (+6.1%), Financials ex REITs (+1.6%) and Materials (+0.5%), whilst Energy (-6.9%), REITs (-4.8%) and Utilities (-2.7%) lagged. Bluescope Steel (+27bp) was the largest contributor to performance. Other key contributors included Amcor (+17bp) and Costa Group (+14bp). Short positions in retail REITs and rate sensitive stocks were also effective. The key negative contributors included AGL (-13bp), NAB (-11bp) and Macquarie Group (-8bp) and BHP (-8bp) which fell despite the bounce in the iron ore price. Net equity market exposure including derivatives increased from 21.5% to 55.4% (60.4% long and 4.9% short) with increased holdings in three of the four major banks and the resources sector (principally BHP, RIO and S32) while closing out a short position in SPI Futures. |
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Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
11 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia returns 1.88% in June, to complete their 8th consecutive positive financial year.
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11 Jul 2017 - Performance Report: 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 Manager noted the ASX200 Accumulation Index posted its first negative quarter in over a year, as underlying volatility edged up, albeit from very low levels, as bond yields rose, with both the A$ and US$ 10-year yields up 35 bps in just two weeks, and with greater gains in the Euro zone. Given that these moves are against only the possibility of central banks withdrawing monetary stimulus, Optimal are concerned that the reality of such action could be very ugly indeed. On the portfolio front Optimal see earnings risks in companies facing the Australian consumer, and considerable risk in the banks and sectors exposed to housing given recent reactive government policy such as bank taxes, and concerns over energy security and rising gas and electricity prices. Optimal expect volatility to continue to rise over the very short term in spite of the market shrugging off increasingly poor geo-political risks, and the upcoming company reporting season in August. At month end the Fund's gross exposure stood at 122% of NAV, 64% long and 38% short (including derivatives) for a net exposure of 6%. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
10 Jul 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong's Long Short Equity Fund returns 1.2% in June, ending the financial year on a strong note against the ASX200.
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10 Jul 2017 - 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 monthly report indicates the manager remains apprehensive about current asset values, with market valuations increasing further, and remaining at levels well above historical averages, particularly noting the growing impetus for further interest rate normalisation and the beginning of central banks' balance sheet unwinding. |
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