NEWS
16 Mar 2015 - Understanding Hedge Funds - Episode 4
Chris Gosselin, CEO of Australian Fund Monitors explains Hedge Funds and in particular helps answer the questions asked by investors to determine which Fund Manager with whom to invest.
Take a look at the earlier videos in the series here.
13 Mar 2015 - Fund Review: Alpha Beta Asian Fund Review January 2015
ALPHA BETA ASIAN FUND
AFM has updated the Fund Review on the Alpha Beta Asian Fund.
CPD Points are now available for all AFM Fund Reviews. Read the review and answer 5 questions to earn half a point toward your continuing professional development.
Key points include:
- The Fund The Alpha Beta Asian Fund invests in Asian listed equity markets with a focus on liquid companies in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. The Fund uses a systematic approach to evaluate macroeconomic, company fundamental and price data, all of which are evaluated through a series of quantitative models.
- Sydney based Alpha Beta Capital was established by Andrew Barry and Ken Lewis in May 2012. Both Barry and Lewis have significant qualifications and international experience in funds management, including working together at Coronation International, a global multi-strategy hedge fund group in London.
- The Strategy relies on a number of core beliefs: Firstly that a well designed systematic investment process, operating within a multi-strategy framework will be able to extract consistent returns, on average, with low volatility. Secondly, by utilising holding periods substantially shorter than the industry-norm, profit opportunities consistently arise. Finally, a strategy that holds a large number of small positions versus a small number of concentrated positions, will remove much of the emotional angst of trading, and the investment process becomes repeatable.
- In keeping with the Manager's overall systematic approach the Risk Management includes real time monitoring of positions and market exposure, and is combined into a proprietary and automated system called PARMS (Portfolio and Risk Management System). PARMS is a centralised and integrated system which provides full functionality including stress testing.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sean Webster
Research Manager
Alpha Beta Asian Fund AFM Fund report Jan 2015 (pdf format)
12 Mar 2015 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund January 2015
INSYNC GLOBAL TITANS FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Titans Fund.
CPD Points are now available for all AFM Fund Reviews. Read the review and answer 5 questions to earn half a point toward your continuing professional development.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Fund's unit price increased by 1.3% in January. The performance was driven by positive contributions from our holdings in Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Experian and Sanofi as well as the weaker Australian dollar. The main negative contributors were Time Warner Cable, Microsoft and Discover Financial Services. The Fund continues to have no foreign currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside.
- The Global Titans Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend growth and downside protection.
- Portfolio selection is driven by a core strategy of investing in companies with sustainable growth in dividends, high returns on capital, positive free cash flows and strong balance sheets.
- Emphasis on limiting downside risk is through extensive company research, the ability to hold cash and long protective index put options.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sean Webster
Research Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund AFM Review - January 2015 (pdf format)
11 Mar 2015 - Monash Absolute Investment Fund
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| Fund Overview | The fund seeks to identify opportunities in the share market to make positive returns (long and short) irrespective of market conditions. It is style agnostic, as compelling investment opportunities exist across all investment styles from time to time. The Fund places a high priority on capital preservation, and has an absolute return focus in accepting market risk. The Manager's experience across value, growth and discounted cash flow styles allows them to use a comprehensive approach to investment decisions that applies all three. They also have the patience to seek out only compelling opportunities, rather than settling for relative value. The portfolio is somewhat concentrated, looking to diversify across industries and themes, rather than by trying to stay near an index. The portfolio may at times have a large amount of cash or other protection. However once investments are made turnover may be relatively high in order to lock in gains and avoid losses. |
| Manager Comments | The Manager's month-end exposure was net 84%, gross 99% and the VAR 1.1%, with a beta of 0.62 for the portfolio. Some of the highs for the month came from strong gains in Next DC and Silver Chef stocks, while the lows came from losses in Netcomm Wireless and Energy Action. In depth details of the Fund's holding is available on the Australian Fund Monitors website |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Alpha Beta Asian Fund AFM Fund report Jan 2015 (pdf format)
10 Mar 2015 - Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund January 2015
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund:
- The Supervised High Yield Fund (SHYF) has a 5 year track record investing in fixed interest investments. The Investment strategy aims to deliver returns with zero correlation to equity markets by investing in debt securities with minimal default probability and offering a premium return above the risk free rate.
- The Fund is managed by Philip Carden whose experience in debt and capital markets spans 32 years, including time with JB Were's Capel Court Securities and Macquarie Bank, where he was the Executive Director responsible for the Debt Markets Division.
- SHYF is an Alternative Income fund which invests in Global and Australian debt markets, with all foreign currency receivables hedged back to Australian dollars.
- The Fund utilises a top down analysis of the economic environment and market to screen and identify debt market opportunities which it believes offer low risk with high yield. The next stage is the development of a risk matrix and investment strategy, following which detailed research is undertaken on specific investment opportunities which meet the pre-defined criteria established in the investment strategy.
- Prior to approving an investment for the Fund each potential investment is subject to two stress tests. The first of these is for credit and default risk, in which the investment is stress-tested to ensure that in a worst case economic environment it can repay 100% of its principal and interest obligations case scenario for the asset by examining the highest margin over the risk rate that the investment has previously experienced in a crisis situation. Any decline in value under the stress test that exceeds 10% of the Fund's value is avoided The second test examines market risk. In this case Carden looks at the worst case scenario for the asset by examining the highest margin over the risk rate that the investment has previously experienced in a crisis situation. Any decline in value under the stress test that exceeds 10% of the Fund's value is avoided.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Supervised High Yield Fund AFM Review Jan 2015 (pdf format)
10 Mar 2015 - Understanding Hedge Funds - Episode 3
Chris Gosselin, CEO of Australian Fund Monitors explains Short Selling and how it relates to Hedge Funds.
View our other videos here.
9 Mar 2015 - KIS Asia Long Short Fund
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| Fund Overview | Whilst the Fund's primary strategy is focused on long/short equities, the ability to retain discretionary powers to allocate across a number of other investment strategies is reserved. These strategies may include, but not be limited to: convertible bond investments, portfolio hedging, equity related arbitrage, special situations (e.g. merger arbitrage, rights offerings, participation in international public offerings and placements, etc.). The Fund's geographic focus is Asia excluding Japan, but including Australia). The Fund may invest outside of this region to the extent that: 1. The investment decision is driven from the Asian region or; 2. The exposure is intended to mitigate risk or enhance return from factors external to the Asian region. |
| Manager Comments | The portfolio gained 17bp due to the convertible bonds strategy on Elders Ltd & PaperlinX Limited. The portfolio's long/short, portfolio hedge and currency class FX hedge strategies lost a total of 85bp in January. The Fund suffered on short positions on Australian banks (NAB.AX, CBA.AX, ANZ.AX) and long position in Comba Telecom. However, the loss in this strategy was minimized by having long positions in two small cap holdings. The portfolio hedge strategy lost 47bp as the Fund did not expect the ECB to be such a strong and cohesive organization to be able to propose QE measures that markets would react positively to. To hedge the fund, and to profit from our expectation of disappointment from the market to the announcement we had purchased index put options. Investments are received in US$ and spot exchanged to A$. The impact of interest rate differentials reduced the performance of the US$ series by 27bp. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
6 Mar 2015 - Hedge Clippings
The Intergenerational Report seems to state the bleedin' obvious!
One of the clearest (and concerning) presentations we have seen in the past few months on the problems that Australia is facing was given by John Daley, the CEO of the Grattan Institute. His views were reaffirmed in Wednesday's Editorial & Opinion section of the Australian Financial Review.
Put simply Daley's argument is that based on current facts and future assumptions the government's income and expenditure outlook is broken. The current budget deficit of around $40 billion a year is not going to be fixed in short-term, and unless it is addressed, it's going to get worse.
We have an ageing population, which apart from the social, health and demographic issues is going to result in increasing pressures on the budget, with a larger proportion of the population relying on welfare, and a smaller proportion (62% by 2050) of the population in the workforce and therefore contributing tax revenue.
As Janine Perrett from the Switzer Report noted today governments need the vision and political will (both of which in her opinion are totally lacking today) which enabled superannuation and the GST to be introduced which were both big picture innovations that have had significant ramifications since.
Whether either side of politics currently has either vision or political will is debatable. However the current system where everyone wants more from the government, either in the form of handouts or taxation concessions, while paying less tax, is simply not going to solve the problem.
Sooner or later the current sacred cows such as concessional superannuation taxation in retirement phase, negative gearing, and welfare for the wealthy are going to have to be addressed. Sooner or later one side of politics or the other, preferably both, are going to have to bite the bullet and increase and broaden the GST.
In our mind the sooner the better because in the meantime we are just digging the hole, out of which we will all have to climb, deeper.
Specific results received this week include the following PERFORMANCE UPDATES:
In January, Alpha Beta Asian Fund returned -1.30%, bringing the Fund's return since inception to 20.90%.
Allard Investment Fund increased 5.5% during the month of January and 24.73% over the previous twelve month performance.
In January, Insync Global Titans Fund returned 1.30% bringing the Fund's prior 12 month performance to 12.81%.
FUND REVIEWS released this week, with the potential for earning CPD points: Totus Alpha Fund; Bennelong Long Short Fund
FUND IN FOCUS VIDEO released this week: Understanding Hedge Funds - Part 2 explains the basics Short Selling.
25-27 May 2015 - Digital Marketing for Banking and Financial Services Summit
And now for something completely different and continuing our theme from last week's hedge clipping, for all those frustrated parents and office colleagues, we bring you this instructional video.
On that note, I hope you have a happy and safe week-end.
Kind regards,
Chris
CEO, AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS
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6 Mar 2015 - Insync Global Titans Fund
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| Fund Overview | Insync employs four simple screens to narrow the universe of over 40,000 listed companies globally to a focus group of high quality companies that it believes have the potential to consistently grow their profits and dividends. These screens are size of the company, balance sheet performance, valuation and dividend quality. Companies that pass this due diligence process are then valued using dividend discount models, free cash flow yield and proprietary implied growth and expected return models. The end result is a high conviction portfolio of typically 15-30 stocks. The principal investments will be in shares of companies listed on international stock exchanges (including the US, Europe and Asia). The Fund may also hold cash, derivatives (for example futures, options and swaps), currency contracts, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The Fund may also invest in various types of international pooled investment vehicles. At times, Insync may consider holding higher levels of cash if valuations are full and it is difficult to find attractive investment opportunities. When Insync believes markets to be overvalued, it may hold part of its resources in cash, or use derivatives as a way of reducing its equity exposure. Insync may use options, futures and other derivatives to reduce risk or gain exposure to underlying physical investments. The Fund may purchase put options on market indices or specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. |
| Manager Comments | More than half of the Fund's geographic composition was in North America at 59.50%. The key industry compositions consisted of Health Care at 27.50%, Consumer Discretionary at 19.70% and Consumer Staples at 18.40%. The Fund's performance was driven by positive contributions from holdings in Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Experian and Sanofi as well as the weaker Australian dollar. The main negative contributors were Time Warner Cable, Microsoft and Discover Financial Services. The Fund continues to have no foreign currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
6 Mar 2015 - Digital Marketing for Banking & Financial Services 2015 Summit
Digital Marketing for Banking & Financial Services 2015 Summit
25-27 March 2015 at the Grace Hotel, Sydney
Digital Marketing for Banking and Financial Services Summit will explore how the finance industry could Optimise digital technologies and savvy marketing strategies to acquire and convert customers, increase revenue and an unparalleled competitive edge.
Conference Overview
There is little doubt the financial sector has lagged behind other industries, in its adoption of digital technology as part of its marketing planning and execution. As customers become increasingly tech savvy, digitally centered and view banking as a thing you do and not a place you go to, it is imperative the financial industry comes out from the shadows to forge a strong presence in the digital sphere. Coupled with a generally negative public perception, financial institutions need to develop strategies that will gain the trust and confidence of customers in order to stay visible, competitive and drive revenue. Todays marketers must know how to reach customers across multiple channels, with positive and credible messages and meet them on their terms in a transparent and personalised way.
This landmark three day conference and workshop event has been designed to provide a comprehensive range of subject matter to ensure industry marketers are well equipped to develop more customer centric strategies and use all available data and technologies effectively to reach, acquire and ultimately convert and retain customers.
Delegates will be saturated with a myriad of case studies from financial institutions which have excelled in the use of digital technology to win over customers. Invaluable insights will be shared which can be directly applied to organisations to improve existing marketing campaigns or kick start new ones.
Book today to reserve your place at this must attend event on the 2015 digital marketing event calendar.
Dates: 25-27th March 2015
Time: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Location: Grace Hotel, Sydney
Specific topics over three jammed packed days include:
- Latest trends and future directions in digital technologies
- Optimal use of data and analytics
- Segmented and personalised marketing
- Brand and image revamping
- Search Engine Optimisation, SEO
- Compelling content development across multi platforms
- Utilising the power of social media
- Enhancing customer experiences and engagement
- Mobile marketing and emerging payment technologies
- Banking disruptors
- Legalities behind digital marketing in the finance sector
- Alignment of technology and marketing
- Marketing Automation
- Programmatic Buying
Who will attend?
CMOs, and senior personnel in marketing, and advertising, digital and interactive, analytics, content development, research, branding, and customer relations, and strategy; Media Agencies, Consultants, Vendors and Solutions Providers in Communications, Strategy, SEO, Automation, Social Media and CRM, Analytics, Research and Software and all other stakeholders in the digital marketing realm will benefit from the broad yet highly relevant subject matter.
To register for the conference please download the brochure and fax the form to IBRC or you can email [email protected] or call:
Registrations Manager
IBR Conferences Pty Ltd
Tel: +61 (0) 2 9896 0776 | Fax: +61 (0) 2 9896 0796 | [email protected] | http://www.ibrc.com.au
