NEWS
Fund Review: Totus Alpha Fund September 2015
22 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
September Fund Review with key statistics for Totus Alpha Fund is now available.
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22 Oct 2015 - Fund Review: Totus Alpha Fund September 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund AFM Fund Review September 2015 (pdf format)
TOTUS ALPHA FUND
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Totus Capital is a Sydney based long short fund manager established in 2012 by Ben McGarry which aims to place equal emphasis on performance and capital preservation. The Fund invests mainly in Australia, but also in other developed economies, with a primary exposure to equity markets.
- The Totus Alpha Fund's investment strategy is to identify structural themes, and then seek to drive performance by investing in securities that have concentrated exposure to those themes. Single stock short positions are used to generate alpha, frequently in under researched parts of the market such as the small and mid-cap space. Index derivatives are used to hedge the portfolio's market risk.
- McGarry qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PWC in 1999 and has 14 years market experience, commencing his career covering European building materials and construction sectors at Morgan Stanley in London. Previous experience included analytical roles at Ausbil, a Sydney based $10bn+ long-only manager, and sell side emerging companies experience at UBS. McGarry's emerging company research with UBS included exposure to a range of sectors including energy, materials, industrials, tech, financials, retail and telecommunications.
- The Fund has delivered an annalised return of 30.40% since inception in March 2012 as compared to 9.08% for the ASX 200 Accumulation Index. The standard deviation has been higher than the Index at 14.19% as compared to 12.31% and the Sharpe ratio is 1.77.
Totus Alpha Fund AFM Fund Review September 2015 (pdf format)
Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
22 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific finished up 1.02% for the month, compared to the Asia Pacific market which fell -4.7% and HFR Event Driven Index which closed down -3.2%.
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22 Oct 2015 - Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 | Despite the global macro uncertainty, deal activity in September picked up significantly and was well diversified with Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan the more active markets. The M&A sub-strategy contributed to +0.97% of the Fund's monthly return with China Resource Enterprise (291 HK) and Affinity Education (AFJ) being the two significant contributors. The Capital Management strategy was the biggest detractors of the month. On average, the Fund's net and gross exposures were 6% and 201.1% respectively. Click below to read the complete Fund Manager's Report. |
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Signature Quantitative Fund
21 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Signature Quantitative Fund returned +1.1% for the month of September, to outperform the ASX200 Accumulation Index by 4.06%.
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21 Oct 2015 - Signature Quantitative Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | SQF has been established to profit from anomalies surrounding event driven, behavioural & factor based structural market inefficiencies which generate significant profits and are uncorrelated & persistent over time. Specific strategies such as dividend arbitrage, index addition and deletion, tax year end, capital raisings, among other strategies are used by the Fund. The Fund's initial focus is on investing in Australian and New Zealand markets. |
| Manager Comments | The Dividend Arbitrage strategy continued its recent solid performance in the volatile downward-trending market. Alpha Capture was also a strong positive contributor for the month as earnings revisions and analyst sentiment indicators paid off. The Fund had a net exposure of 53%, of which 15.6% exposure was in the Financial sector. Click the link below to view the latest Monthly Report. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund September 2015
21 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
September Fund Review now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has over 13 years track record & annualised returns of 18.15%.
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21 Oct 2015 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund September 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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 cap stocks from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over thirteen year track record and annualised returns of 18.15%.
- 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 1.10 (Index 0.27) and 1.89 (Index 0.28) respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund September 2015
20 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest fund review now available on the Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund, which has one of the most risk averse Key Performance Statistics of any fund in AFM's database.
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20 Oct 2015 - Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund September 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AURORA FORTITUDE ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- The Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (AFARF) has a 10 year track record investing in ASX listed equities. A Market Neutral overlay is used across a multi strategy approach which allows for flexible asset allocation to maximise returns and minimise risk under a variety of market conditions and cycles.CIO John Corr has over 20 years financial market experience with a strong focus on risk.
- Significant use of low risk "long" derivatives and option overlays has provided positive returns with low volatility during periods of market dislocation. Risk statistics are impressive and shows the Funds risk philosophy; over 86% of monthly performances have been positive with no losing months in 2008, the Fund's largest drawdown is -2.09% and the Sharpe ratio 1.11.
- ASX listed Aurora Funds Limited was established on the merger of three existing fund management businesses, managing approx. $230m on behalf of more than 2,500 retail and wholesale investors.
APN Asian REIT Fund
20 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund rose 1.64% in September. Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 17.74% p.a.
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20 Oct 2015 - 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. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's portfolio was geographically allocated in multiple Asian countries, with 38.3% in Japan and 30.2% in Singapore. Majority of the underlying property sector allocation was in the Retail REITs sector 37.5%, followed by Office REITs sector 27.6%. Top 5 Asian REIT holdings were in Croesus Retail Trust, Keppel Dc REIT, N, Capitaland Retail China Trust, Kenedix Office Investment Co and Soilbuild Business Space REIT. Click below to read the latest Fund's September commentary. |
| More Information |
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
19 Oct 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund fell 2.98% in September, underperforming its benchmark (MSCI AC World Total Return in Australian Dollars), which fell 2.70%, by 0.28%.
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19 Oct 2015 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | September's main disappointment was one of the Fund's largest remaining long term holdings: Hospital Corp of America (HCA). Losses on HCA more than accounted for the September under-performance. A positive contributor came from a new Japanese retail long-short position, comprising fast growing dispensing pharmacy chain, Nihon Chouzai together with Tsuruha, Japan's largest drug store chain, funded by a short position in combined drugstore and pharmacy operator Sugi, which the Fund believes to be overpriced. For the month, the Fund had over 42% of their equity exposure in the North American region and over 20% in the Financials Sector. Click below to read the Fund Manager's monthly report and their September outlook of the market. |
| More Information |
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. |
| More Information |
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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