NEWS
Totus Alpha Fund
16 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund rose 1.01%, outperforming the ASX 300 Accumulation Index which was down 2.7% for the month of May.
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16 Jun 2017 - 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. 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 | The positive contributions for the month came from a short position in Quintis +3.12%, and long positions in Alphabet +0.77%, and Smartgroup +0.66%. The biggest detractors included long positions in Vita Group -1.16%, Shriro -1.12% and Medibank -0.40%. As of 31 May, the Fund had a net exposure of 62.90% and a gross exposure of 258.9% and held 119 positions (52 long and 67 short). |
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NWQ Fiduciary Fund
16 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
NWQ Fiduciary Fund returned +0.81% in May and has returned +5.82% p.a. since its inception in May 2013.
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16 Jun 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 | Six of the nine managers delivered a positive return in a month where the domestic equity market fell sharply. In particular, three of the four Beta managers, that have positive net market exposure, delivered a positive return, underlining the importance of stock selection and active risk management. The Beta managers combined for a positive contribution (+0.22%) to overall Fund performance. The Fund's Alpha managers also combined to make a positive contribution (+0.66%) to overall performance in May with three of the five managers delivering a positive return. NWQ continues to believe that there exists further potential for destructive equity and bond market volatility in the coming months, and therefore, the portfolio continues to remain overweight to the Alpha or market neutral strategies. |
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Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
15 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Optimal Australia Absolute Trust reported a net return of +0.17% in May 2017, to take the annualised return since inception to 8.02% p.a.
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15 Jun 2017 - 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's short positions in the financial and healthcare sectors made positive contributions to the month's performance. Also, the Henderson/Janus merger closed on schedule, and the stock was a positive contributor to returns. However, one of the Fund's international-facing financials, CYBG, did less well following its earnings report and pre-UK election uncertainty. The investment team continues to actively position the Fund to be slightly net short beta exposure, and the long positions remain tactically weighted to stocks which feature little dependence on the domestic economy, strong balance sheets and free cash flows, and defensive valuations. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund May 2017
15 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review is now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has an annualised return of 16.85% p.a.
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15 Jun 2017 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund May 2017
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - May 2017 (pdf format)
BENNELONG LONG SHORT EQUITY FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund.
- The Fund is a research driven, market and sector neutral, "pairs" trading strategy investing primarily in large large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over fourteen-year track record and annualised returns of 16.85% p.a.
- The consistent returns across the investment history indicate the Fund's ability to provide positive returns in volatile and negative markets and significantly outperform the broader market. The Fund's Sharpe Ratio and Sortino Ratio are 1.02 and 1.71 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - May 2017 (pdf format)
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
14 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund fell 0.75% in May, taking the annualised return since inception to 10.93% p.a.
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14 Jun 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 | Aristocrat Leisure (+35bp) was the largest contributor to the month's performance. Share Price Index Futures (+23bp) hedging long positions added value given the fall in the market. Other key contributors included RCR Tomlinson (+19bp) and Boral (+11bp). Short positions in retailers, retail REITs and banks were also effective. The key negative contributors included NAB (-32bp), ANZ (-27bp), Incitec Pivot (-22bp) and CSR (-14bp). Net equity market exposure including derivatives reduced from 60.3% to 21.5% (38.1% long and 16.6% short) as the Fund moved from a significant long exposure to the four major banks to a net short position. |
| More Information |
Cyan C3G Fund
13 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Cyan C3G Fund posted a small 0.2% gain in May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index's return of -2.75%.
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13 Jun 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 | The Fund benefitted from price strength in a few of its key long-term holdings through May. Getswift (GSW) continued its run from the prior month, rising another +21% in May. Afterpay (AFY) and Touchcorp (TCH) also rose (+15%) for the month in anticipation that the merger between the two Fintech businesses is likely to be completed by the end of June 2017. However, the Fund's small holding in Nick Scali was down 10% lower. The Fund is still conservatively positioned but ready to deploy as an opportunity presents itself. |
| More Information |
Hedge Clippings
12 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Valuations are at all time highs. The VIX is at all time lows. What is there to worry about?
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12 Jun 2017 - Hedge Clippings
By: Australian Fund Monitors
There's nothing to worry about, is there?
Today's AFR's article "Gurus nervous it's 2008 all over again" provides a fair warning.
Valuations are at all time highs. The VIX is at all time lows. What is there to worry about?
- Trump might be impeached.
- May may (and more likely will) lose the unlosable UK election as we pre-empted in last week's Hedge Clippings.
- The Middle East is a mess. OK, so that's been the case for the best part of 70, 100, or 2,000 years depending on your point of view and which side you are, or were, on.
- North Korea's only a rocket or two away from overstepping the mark.
And Australia, in spite of recording record growth - at least from a longevity perspective - is a political, economic, taxation and legislative mess because neither side of politics are prepared to compromise for the long-term benefit of the country, and neither can govern without the support of a tiny minority. And they call that democracy.
Meanwhile some clown on the radio say's "don't worry about the threat of terrorism, you're statistically more likely to be killed by a bee sting than a lunatic with a driving licence and a knife", carefully ignoring the fact that one is accidental, the other deliberate.
Relax. Be Happy!
Allard Investment Fund increased 1.87% during the month of May 2017 and is up 19.71% for the latest 12 months. The Fund has an annualised return since inception of 9.43% p.a.
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 2.86% for the month of May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, which returned -2.75%, by +5.61%. Since inception, the Fund's has an annualised return of 16.85% p.a.
Quay Global Real Estate Fund delivered a +1.8% return for the month of May 2017, outperforming the FTSE/ EPRA NAREIT Developed Index Net TR AUD Index, which returned +1.3%, by 0.5%. Since inception in July 2014, the Fund has an annualised return of 16.1% p.a.
Paragon Australian Long Short Fund gained 1.30% for the month of May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index by +4.05%. The Fund has an annualised return since inception of 11.83% p.a.
And, on that note, have a great weekend.
Regards,
Chris
CEO, AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS
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APN Asian REIT Fund
12 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund rose 3.37% for the month of May, outperforming the Bloomberg Asia REIT Index which returned +3.14%, by 0.23%.
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12 Jun 2017 - APN Asian REIT Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Pete Morrissey and Corrine Ng are the Portfolio Managers of the Fund. Morrissey has over 15 years financial markets experience and joined APN in 2006. Previously, he worked at Lonsec and also managed an internationally focused private investment fund as well as spending several years as an analyst in the UK for Nomura, amongst others. He has also completed Masters level academic research papers on both commercial real estate cycles and global property cycles. Ng also has a strong background in property and REITs in Australia, Asia and the North American markets. Prior to joining APN, Ng worked for Aviva Investors (Senior Investment Analyst, North America Real Estate Securities Team) and Goldman Sachs & Co (Vice President, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Real Estate Securities Team) in New York. The Fund aims to deliver a competitive yield with lower risk than the market. The underlying stocks are selected based on a highly disciplined investment approach that focuses on the fundamentals and number of valuation approaches. The universe is expected to be dynamic as new IPO's, other corporate actions take place and / or corporate governance improvements at country or REIT level bring new stocks into focus. The Fund focuses on passive rental earnings derived from well managed Asian REITs listed in mature capital markets and will not invest in infrastructure, property development companies or stocks with a 'loose association with property'. The Fund provides access to a wide spread of property-based revenue streams that are specifically analysed, selected and weighted with the aim of delivering strong and sustainable income returns. The Fund is an unhedged product. The Fund is suited to medium to long term investors seeking a relatively high income and some capital growth over the long term. |
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Quay Global Real Estate Fund
9 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Quay Global Real Estate Fund delivered a +1.8% return for the month of May 2017, outperforming the FTSE/ EPRA NAREIT Developed Index Net TR AUD Index, which returned +1.3%, by 0.5%.
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9 Jun 2017 - 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 | Leg Immobilien (German residential property) and Hispania Activos (Spanish Diversified) were among the strongest contributors to the month's total return. However, holdings in Store Capital (US) and Brixmor (US) detracted from the performance. Multifamily/apartments (16.4%), Storage (11.8%) and Industrial (10.9%) were the most heavily weighted sectors in the portfolio. During the month, cash holdings increased from the prior month's 5.2% to 13.3%. |
| More Information |
Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
9 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund rose 1.30% for the month of May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, which returned -2.75%, by +4.05%.
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9 Jun 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. |
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