NEWS
17 Jun 2016 - APN Asian REIT Fund
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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. The manager has offered a special 50% reduction in management fee for all existing and new investors who apply by 30 June 2016. |
Manager Comments | The portfolio was allocated in multiple Asian countries, with the majority in Japan (38.5%) and Singapore (30.9%). Over 65% of the Fund was invested in the Retail REITs (40.3%) and the Office REITs (25%) sectors. The top 5 Asian REIT holdings were in Ascendas Real Estate Inv Trust, Link REIT, Gip J-REIT, Japan Retail Fund Investment and Prosperity REIT. Click below to read the latest Fund's performance report. |
More Information |
16 Jun 2016 - Totus Alpha Fund
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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 | At month-end, the fund had a net exposure of 15.8% and a gross exposure of 253.4%. The fund held 126 positions (57 long and 69 short) that were diversified across multiple investment themes. Top contributors in May were long positions in SmartGroup, McMillian Shakespeare and CYBG. Biggest detractors were short positions in Macquarie, Metcash and OxForex. Click below to read the latest Fund's Monthly Report. |
More Information |
16 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund May 2016
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 18.0%.
- The consistent returns across the investment history indicates 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 1.09 (Index 0.31) and 1.85 (Index 0.33) respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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15 Jun 2016 - Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
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Fund Overview | The Fund will usually hold 40 to 80 positions and will be well diversified across the various event strategies. In keeping with the absolute return focus the Manager will eliminate market risk where appropriate by hedging market and foreign currency risks. Since inception the Fund has averaged a net equity market exposure of ~10%. Sizing of an investment position will depend on the expected risk adjusted returns while taking account the liquidity and volatility of the stock. In addition, the maximum potential loss on any one position should be greater than 0.5% of the NAV and the position should not exceed 30% participation of stressed volume assuming a $200m NAV. Other criteria considered are ability to hedge and the availability of pair candidates as well as the average bid-ask size. For M&A strategies average long position is 3 to 5.5% and average short position 2 to 5%. |
Manager Comments | The Fund navigated the month with an average gross and net exposure of 215% and 9.7% respectively. Gross exposure was increased from the previous month on the back of increased M&A deal activity and capital employed towards more mature M&A transactions. The Stubs and Capital Structure strategies contributed positively to the Fund's performance. Biggest negative contributor came from the M&A strategy. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
More Information |
15 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust May 2016
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.
- In May, the Fund returned 2.29%. The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.53 (Index 0.20), Sortino ratio of 3.53 (Index 0.17), 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.
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14 Jun 2016 - Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund
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Fund Overview | The Fund may also invest in derivatives for hedging purposes. The portfolio of the Fund comprises primarily Investment Grade holding of 75% of the Fund's assets. Benchmark allocations are Australasia 50% to 100%, North America 0% to 50% and Europe 0% to 50%. Currency hedging may take place depending on benefits to the Fund. |
Manager Comments | The Fund has a healthy allocation of 54% to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), which the investment team believes to have great relative value. The Fund continues to be conservatively positioned from a credit duration perspective. At the end of May, the duration was at 1.3 years. The Fund is also looking to increase the overall macro hedges in the portfolio as risk assets rise. At month-end, the portfolio had 4% invested in cash. Click below to read the latest monthly report. |
More Information |
14 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund May 2016
Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Jamieson Coote Bonds is a Melbourne-based Boutique Manager launched in December 2014.
- The Founders, Charles Jamieson and Angus Coote bring over 30 years of international experience dealing with central banks, hedge funds and real money managers.
- The Jamieson Coote Active Bond Fund is a long-only macroeconomic investment fund, investing in Australian Dollar denominated bonds backed by AAA and AA+ rated Government, Semi (State) Government and Supranational agencies.
- The Fund Objective is to out-perform the Bloomberg Australian Government Bond Index through active management in a sound risk-managed framework and usually holds around 20 bond securities of varying maturities.
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13 Jun 2016 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
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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, TPG Telecom, Pilbara Minerals and CSL all made significant positive contributions whilst Share Price Index Futures contracts (hedging long positions), BHP Billiton and BWX were the largest detractors from performance. Net equity market exposure (including derivatives) remained fairly stable at 32.1% (52.1% long and 20.0% short). Click below to read the latest Fund Report. |
More Information |
13 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Meme Australian Share Fund May 2016
Meme Australian Share Fund
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Meme Australian Share Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
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The Meme Capital Management is a Perth-based boutique Fund Manager, established in 2012 and manages the Meme Australian Share Fund.
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The Fund specializes in technical and quantitative strategies to identify investment opportunities expected to provide both positive price appreciation and relative price out-performance over the medium to long term.
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The Fund's objective is to outperform the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index over rolling three-year periods, through investing in ASX listed securities outside the S&P/ASX 20. The Fund only takes long positions and does not use derivatives.
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Since inception the Fund has an annualised return of 20.48% p.a., versus the Index's return of 8.81% p.a.
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11 Jun 2016 - Hedge Clippings
World Bank cuts 2016 growth forecast from 2.9% to 2.4%
Hedge Clippings sometimes wonders at those really smart people who are tasked with producing economic forecasts. Why can't they ever seem to get it right? OK, we accept that it's not an easy job, but a 50 basis point cut since their previous forecast issued in January suggests they need to take a look out of the window, or even take a walk in the street.
To make matters worse the overview on their website included the warning (if you didn't need it) that their "projections are subject to substantial downside risks, including additional growth disappointments in advanced economies or key emerging markets and rising policy and geopolitical uncertainties". That sounds to us like hedging their bets, with the likelihood that at some time in the next few months they will announce further (downward) adjustments. They'd better get a move on, because the year is almost half gone already, so the margin for error is getting slimmer by the day.
To be fair these are difficult times, and there are a significant number of risks out there. It seems that Janet Yellen and the US Fed have put off a rate rise in the immediate future, while in Germany of all places, that European powerhouse of industrial growth, yields have finally slipped into negative territory.
And talking of false or wildly hopeful expectations, how either of Australia's two political parties expect the electorate to believe that the budget can be brought back into surplus within the next five years, or for that matter the next ten, without a major overhaul of both spending and taxation, neither of which are politically acceptable to a significant proportion of the population, never ceases to amaze us.
On a completely different and unrelated note and nothing to do with the World Bank, economic forecasts, or unrealistic politicians, Mohammed Ali sadly passed away last week-end. Among all the articles that were written was one by Peter FitzSimons which (probably correctly) blamed boxing for our heroes' condition, and ultimately his untimely end. However, Fitzy missed the point that without boxing it is unlikely that Cassius Clay would have ever emerged onto the world stage, and we would all have been worse off as a result.
So as a tribute to a real hero, a couple of quotes out of the thousands from the man who rightly claimed to be the "greatest" - in many senses of the word, in and out of the ring:
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given, than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."
And another:
"Don't count the days, make the days count."
RIP
APN Asian AREIT Fund rose 4.57% for the month of April, compared to the BBAREIT Index's return of 5.68%. Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 17.19% p.a.
Insync Global Titans Fund returned 0.7% in April, taking annualised return since inception in October 2009 to 9.2%.
Meme Australian Share Fund rose 5.43% for the month of May, to take latest 12 months return to 22.93%.
Cyan C3G Fund returned +5.70% in May 2016. Over two years since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 35.07% p.a.
Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund rose 1.19%, against the Bloomberg Australian Government Bond Index which returned 1.37%.
The Paragon Fund rose 7.0% for the month of May to take annualised return over 3 years since inception to 22%.
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust returned 2.29% to take annualised return since inception in 2008 to 9.22% p.a; standard deviation of just 3.68%, and a Sharpe ratio of 1.53.
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 7.58% in May, outperforming the ASX 200 Accumulation Index by 4.49%, while taking 12-month performance to 31%, and annualised performance over 13 years to 18%.
FUND REVIEWS released this week: APN Asian REIT Fund; Insync Global Titans Fund;
And on that note, have a great weekend.
Regards,
Chris
CEO, AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS
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