NEWS
Hedge Clippings
16 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Cayman Funds on the front pages, and an unforseen rate rise.
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16 Oct 2015 - Hedge Clippings
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Cayman Funds on the front pages, and an unforseen rate rise
This week hedge funds made the front pages in Australia as the opposition tried to embarrass the newly appointed PM Malcolm Turnbull over his investments there. As usual they didn't let the facts get in the way of a good story, and as it turned out it backfired on them as most who understand the industry thought it would.
The reality is that the "tax free" status of the Cayman's is to all intents and purposes the same as the tax free status of Australian unit trusts. Where they differ significantly is that Australian trusts have to distribute their earnings annually, whereas their Cayman counterparts can accumulate earnings until redeemed. In other respects unit holders, or in the case of the Cayman vehicles, shareholders, are responsible for paying tax in their own jurisdiction a the applicable rate.
As a result of that, and withholding tax, Australian unit trusts aren't that attractive to offshore investors which is why local managers wanting to attract them need to establish an offshore, normally Cayman, vehicle.
Simple enough even for the opposition to understand, as the PM was able to explain to them!
Meanwhile Westpac raised variable interest rates on mortgages this week in a surprise decision given the general view that official rates in Australia are likely to remain flat or possibly fall over the coming months. I guess that is covered by the adage of expect the unexpected!
Specific results received this week include the following PERFORMANCE UPDATES:
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 5.71% in September to outperform the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 8.67%.
Totus Alpha Fund rose 6.15% net of fees in September to bring the latest 12 months return to 40.89%.
The Meme Australian Share Fund gained 4.93% compared to the ASX200 Accumulation Index's fall of 2.96%, an outperformace of 7.89% for the month of September.
The Paragon Fund rose 1.60% after fees for the month of September 2015, to bring annualised performance since inception to 17.54% p.a.
QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund rose 4.25%, to significantly outperform the S&P/ASX 100 Price Index, by 7.91%.
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned +0.59%, to outperform the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 3.55%.
FUND REVIEWS released this week: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust; Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund; Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
Apologies to those who enjoy it, but we have nothing completely different to add this week but we hope youenjoy the week-end anyway.
Regards,
Chris
CEO,AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS
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Totus Alpha Fund
16 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund rose 6.15% net of fees in September to bring the latest 12 months return to 40.89%.
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16 Oct 2015 - 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 | At month-end,the Fund had a net exposure of -23.0% and a gross exposure of 293.2%. The Fund was diversified across a number investment themes and geographies with 131 positions (55 long and 76 short). Top contributors in September were the short positions in LNG Limited +3.11% (Promoter) and Woodside +0.98% (Energy). A long position in SmartGroup added +0.82% (Scarce Growth). Biggest detractors were the short positions in Northern Star -1.14% (Gold), Newcrest -0.75% (Gold) and Spotless -0.46% (Earnings Risk). Click below to read the latest Fund's Monthly Report. |
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Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
16 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned +0.59%, to outperform the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 3.55%.
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16 Oct 2015 - 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 | In this volatile environment, it was the Yield strategy that was the biggest contributor for the month (+0.69%) with the short dated instruments all performing well. The Fund's largest position, the Primary Healthcare Bonds (PRYHA.ASX), were redeemed as expected at maturity. Options was a small positive contributor for the month (+0.11%). The Long/Short (-0.11%) and Convergence (-0.13%) positions were detractors for the month, mostly due to the tendency for positions to have a long bias. Click below to read more on the Fund's performance. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund September 2015
16 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review now available on Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund, which has over 9 years of positive track record.
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16 Oct 2015 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund September 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
BENNELONG KARDINIA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review. You are also able to view the Fund's Profile.
- The Fund is long biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy investing in listed ASX companies with an nine year track record.
- The Fund has significantly outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index since its inception in May 2006 and also has significantly lower risk KPI's. The Fund has an annualised return of 12.46% p.a. with a volatility of 7.31%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 4.04% p.a. with volatility of 14.36%.
- The Fund also has a strong focus on capital protection in negative markets. Portfolio Managers Mark Burgess and Kristiaan Rehder have significant market experience, while Bennelong Funds Management provide infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution capabilities.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund
15 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund rose 4.25%, to significantly outperform the
S&P/ASX 100 Price Index, by 7.91%.
S&P/ASX 100 Price Index, by 7.91%.
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15 Oct 2015 - QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund targets a net market exposure of 0% to hedge broader market risks through 30 S&P/ASX-100 positions (15 long and 15 short equally weighted positions). The turnover is generally averaged around 30% of the total portfolio each month. The process is entirely systematic - stock selection and risk management are all employed in a rules based approach. The Market Neutral Long/Short Fund employs no financial leverage, no derivatives and no financial products to imitate leverage. The Investment Manager's three principal investment goals for the Fund are: 1. Market neutral long/short portfolio management with little correlation to equity markets; 2. Over a 3-5 year period, seeking to target annualised volatility of 15% per annum and annualised returns of 15-30% per annum above the Benchmark; Sharpe Ratio 1.0-2.0 and a negative beta to ASX listed equities; and 3. To provide investors with a co-investment opportunity alongside the founding members' investments in the Investment Manager's strategy. |
| Manager Comments | All long positions, except one, outperformed the market with five of these providing a positive return. The long book delivered a return of -0.12%. Worley, Ansell, Crown & Alumina fell -21.29%, -16.20%, -12.19% & -11.62% for the month producing strong alpha. With thirteen profitable positions, the short book delivered a solid return of +4.41% for the month. Click below to read in more detail the Fund's September Performance Report. |
| More Information |
The Paragon Fund
14 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Fund rose 1.60% after fees for the month of September 2015, to outperform the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 4.56%.
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14 Oct 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 September included Longs in NetComm Wireless, Oil Search, Atherton and Blackham Resources, and Shorts in Origin, Alumina and Woodside. At the end of the month the Fund had 27 long positions and 18 short positions. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's commentary. |
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Fund Review: Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund September 2015
14 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
September Fund Review is now available on Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund, a long-only macroeconomic investment fund.
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14 Oct 2015 - Fund Review: Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund September 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
JCBAF Fund Review September 2015 (pdf format)
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-framework and usually holds around 20 bond securities of varying maturities.
JCBAF Fund Review September 2015 (pdf format)
Meme Australian Share Fund
13 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Meme Australian Share Fund gained 4.93% compared to the ASX200 Accumulation Index's fall of 2.96%, an outperformace of 7.89% for the month of September.
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13 Oct 2015 - Meme Australian Share Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's investment strategy seeks to identify low-risk entry opportunities and then build positions in these stocks. Once established in the portfolio, individual stock holdings are maintained for as long as their long-term upward trend remains intact and while they continue to make positive contributions to portfolio growth. Positions are reduced and ultimately closed out as their trends become exhausted or as their relative long-term performance against the broad market weakens. The Fund believes that longer time frame investments also provide a number of advantages. The effect of false signals and 'noise' which attend shorter term time frames is mitigated by only attending to signals which are confirmed by our longer term assessments. Also, the Fund gains exposure to the more expansive price trends which can last for months and years, allowing dividends and distributions received during this time to further enhance portfolio returns. |
| Manager Comments | The number of portfolio stocks increased from 67 to 82 and portfolio cash decrease from over 23% to less than 1% such that at month end the portfolio is fully invested. Relatively to the All Ordinaries Index, the portfolio held significantly higher allocations in Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Consumer Staples and Information Technology and lower allocations in Financials, Property, Telecommunications and Utilities.The top 10 holdings accounted for over 29% of the portfolio. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's commentary on the Fund. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust September 2015
12 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review on Optimal Australian Absolute Trust Fund.
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12 Oct 2015 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust September 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.
- In September, the Fund outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 9.05%. The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.46 (Index 0.13), Sortino ratio of 3.26 (Index 0.07), 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
12 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 5.71% in September to outperform the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 8.67%.
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12 Oct 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 | The majority of return came from profits on short positions, with a modest loss from the long book. Performance was broad based. Across 30 pairs, 20 were profitable while 10 posted a loss. Also, the top and bottom 3 pairs combined accounted for 20% of net return, with 80% coming from the broader portfolio. Fund activity for the month was minimal with some small changes made in the financials sector. Click below to read the Fund Manager's complete commentary and future market outlook. |
| More Information |
