NEWS
15 Feb 2024 - A few charts from our Micro Caps CY2024 Overview
A few charts from our Micro Caps CY2024 Overview Equitable Investors February 2024 CY2023 Review
Stocks on higher multiples did better than those in "value" territory as investors chased "quality" (if you define that as top quartile return on capital or companies paying dividends) but the most clear cut divide in ASX listings in CY2023 was simply size as investors shunned the perceived heightened risk of micro caps. Below we analyse CY2023 performance of our ASX "FIT" (Financials, Industrials & Technology) micro-to-mid cap universe, alongside the S&P/ASX benchmarks. All FIT returns presented are averages of the stocks that meet the relevant criteria. CY2023 Sector & Industry Review
The Materials sector, covering chemicals, packaging and paper, was the most beaten-down in CY2023 with an average decline of 10% and a median decline of 15%. Health was an interesting space, where the average return was -1% but the median was -17% as the median biotech, pharmaceutical and health care stock fell by more than 20% BUT one stock surged 214%. Interesting to note that Consumer Discretionary stocks strongly outperformed Consumer Staples.
Returns by Size - Broader International Perspective
On an equal-weighted basis, the smallest 10% of stocks by market cap have outperformed the larger 90% in North America and in Asia Pacific ex-Japan (Australia, Hong Kong, NZ & Singapore) over the past 30+ years. But returns over CY2022 and 2023 have favoured the largest and most profitable businesses.
We began tracking the dispersion of trailing (historical) EV/EBITDA multiples when we launched the weekly "Small Talk" publication in 2020. There has been a tangible shift downwards in multiples, with 51% of companies on 10x or less in 2022 and 2023, compared to just 39% at the end of 2020. Funds operated by this manager: Equitable Investors Dragonfly Fund Disclaimer Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Fund returns are quoted net of all fees, expenses and accrued performance fees. Delivery of this report to a recipient should not be relied on as a representation that there has been no change since the preparation date in the affairs or financial condition of the Fund or the Trustee; or that the information contained in this report remains accurate or complete at any time after the preparation date. Equitable Investors Pty Ltd (EI) does not guarantee or make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in this report. To the extent permitted by law, EI disclaims all liability that may otherwise arise due to any information in this report being inaccurate or information being omitted. This report does not take into account the particular investment objectives, financial situation and needs of potential investors. Before making a decision to invest in the Fund the recipient should obtain professional advice. This report does not purport to contain all the information that the recipient may require to evaluate a possible investment in the Fund. The recipient should conduct their own independent analysis of the Fund and refer to the current Information Memorandum, which is available from EI. |
14 Feb 2024 - Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
[Current Manager Report if available]
14 Feb 2024 - Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
[Current Manager Report if available]
13 Feb 2024 - Performance Report: Collins St Value Fund
[Current Manager Report if available]
13 Feb 2024 - Performance Report: Airlie Australian Share Fund
[Current Manager Report if available]
13 Feb 2024 - Investment Perspectives: Global real estate - the outlook and themes for 2024
12 Feb 2024 - Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
[Current Manager Report if available]
12 Feb 2024 - Performance Report: Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged)
[Current Manager Report if available]
12 Feb 2024 - New Funds on Fundmonitors.com
New Funds on FundMonitors.com |
Below are some of the funds we've recently added to our database. Follow the links to view each fund's profile, where you'll have access to their offer documents, monthly reports, historical returns, performance analytics, rankings, research, platform availability, and news & insights. |
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Contrarius Global Equity Fund (Australia Registered) - Retail Class | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Contrarius Global Balanced Fund (Australia Registered) - Retail Class | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lazard Australian Equity Fund | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lazard Global Small Cap Fund | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lazard Global Digital Health Fund | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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9 Feb 2024 - Hedge Clippings | 09 February 2024
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Hedge Clippings | 09 February 2024 Last week's Hedge Clippings didn't linger too long on the potential outcome of Tuesday's RBA Board meeting - the first to be held under the new two-day format - so it wasn't difficult to forecast "there's little chance of a rate rise when the RBA meets next week for their first meeting of the year". However, the statement issued following the meeting - the first issued by the Board as a whole, rather than just by the Governor - was pretty clear in its warning that the economic outlook is "still highly uncertain" and that inflation, or returning it to "target within a reasonable timeframe" remains the Board's highest priority. No doubt the Board's collective statement indicating that inflation's return to target was taking too long - but pointedly including that further increases in interest rates could not be ruled out - was part warning, and part risk-covering given the problems Philip Lowe encountered by making a prediction. However, Michele Bullock's opening statement at her appearance in front of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, delivered this morning, gave further detail on the Board's thinking, including that their inflation target is actually in the middle of the 2-3% range, specifically 2.5%. Inflation peaked at 7.8% in December 2022, falling to 4.1% in December 2023. Now for the difficult task of squeezing the next 1.6% out of the system while maintaining full employment and avoiding a recession, against a backdrop of geo-political strife, supply side issues, weak labour productivity, and across-the-board cost increases thanks to increased wharf costs. A balancing act indeed. As such the Board is not expecting their inflation target of 2.5% to be met for at least 2 years, or until sometime in 2026. As Bullock put it in her address this morning, "we have some way to go..." which we'll take to mean that barring a recession, don't expect any significant easing in the cash rate in the next 6 months or so. On to politics... In Canberra this week Peter Dutton accepted - although he was careful not to endorse - Albo's broken promise on already legislated Stage lll tax cuts. As expected, the decision also opened the door - or debate - for wider changes to the tax system, particularly negative gearing. This takes the government into more dangerous places, as discovered by Bill Shorten when he lost the 2019 election, in large part due to his intention to remove franking credits - which the coalition dubbed a "retiree tax" - and to effectively keep labour in opposition for a few more years. As for Albo's reputation for keeping promises, he's now on the record as having broken one, as well as no longer supporting the whole tax package he and the labour party voted for when they were in opposition. No longer can he claim "my word is my bond," but being a politician, did anyone really believe that in the first place? Finally, over to the USA where Joe Biden has been described (probably accurately) as presenting to a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." At the risk of upsetting our Trump supporters, Donald probably also qualifies as presenting to a jury (and recently to a judge) as an "elderly man with a poor memory." We're not so sure about the "sympathetic, well meaning" tag however. Just to confirm the elderly man with a poor memory tag, Biden then proceeded to respond to the accusation by mixing the presidents of Egypt and Mexico. For the record, one's called Abdel-Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi while the other is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and while sounding very different, yours truly would probably mix them up as well. Maybe the "elderly man with a poor memory" tag fits closer to home than I'd like to admit! News & Insights New Funds on FundMonitors.com Magellan Global Quarterly Update | Magellan Asset Management January 2024 Performance News Bennelong Australian Equities Fund 4D Global Infrastructure Fund (Unhedged) |
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