NEWS
Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
15 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund finished up +1.68 for the month, compared to the HFR Event Driven Index which rose +2.6%.
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15 Apr 2016 - 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 | With volatility being a constant feature of markets in 2016, the holding company sub-strategy has performed very well during this market environment. This sub-strategy contributed +1.6% of the March return. The Fund's database has been very active in tracking and exploiting opportunities across all regional Asian markets. The M&A sub-strategy also worked well during the month and contributed +0.42% to the performance. However, the Fund performance was dragged down by a long position in Quam Limited (952 HK) which experienced regulatory delays to completion. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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APN Asian REIT Fund
15 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund returned -2.70% for the month of March, compared to the BBAREIT Index's return of -4.29%, giving an out-performance of 1.59%.
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15 Apr 2016 - 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. 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 majority in Japan (37.2%) and Singapore (29.3%). Over 66% of the Fund was invested in the Retail REITs (39.4%) and the Office REITs (27.1%) sectors. The top 5 Asian REIT holdings were in Link REIT, Keppel Dc REIT, Prosperity REIT, Gip J-REIT and Heiwa Real Estate REIT Inc. Click below to read the latest Fund's performance report. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund March 2016
14 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
March Fund Review now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has over 13 years track record & annualised return of 17.81% p.a.
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14 Apr 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund March 2016
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 17.81%.
- 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 1.08 (Index 0.28) and 1.82 (Index 0.29) respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Cyan C3G Fund
14 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Cyan C3G Fund rose 2.20% in March 2016, compared to the ASX 200 Accumulation Index which returned +4.73%
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14 Apr 2016 - Cyan C3G Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Cyan C3G Fund is based on the investment philosophy which can be defined as a comprehensive, clear and considered process focused on delivering growth. These are identified through stringent filter criteria and a rigorous research process. The Manager uses a proprietary stock filter in order to eliminate a large proportion of investments due to both internal characteristics (such as gearing levels or cash flow) and external characteristics (such as exposure to commodity prices or customer concentration). Typically, the Fund looks for businesses that are one or more of: a) under researched, b) fundamentally undervalued, c) have a catalyst for re-rating. The Manager seeks to achieve this investment outcome by actively managing a portfolio of Australian listed securities. When the opportunity to invest in suitable securities cannot be found, the manager may reduce the level of equities exposure and accumulate a defensive cash position. Whilst it is the company's intention, there is no guarantee that any distributions or returns will be declared, or that if declared, the amount of any returns will remain constant or increase over time. The Fund does not invest in derivatives and does not use debt to leverage the Fund's performance. However, companies in which the Fund invests may be leveraged. |
| Manager Comments | For March, the Fund's top holdings all produced double digit returns including BlueSky (+21%), AMA Group (+12%), Vita Group, Opus Group and Adadcel. The negative returns came from their holding in Freelancer (-11%) and Touchcorp (-15%). Even though most of the core stocks remained reasonably constant, the weightings and allocations to these stocks changed depending on the attractiveness of investment opportunity. More specifically, the Fund reduced their holding in Vita Group, and increased their weightings in BlueSky, Freelancer and Opus Group. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund March 2016
13 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest March Fund Review on Morphic Global Opportunities Fund.
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13 Apr 2016 - Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund March 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
MORPHIC GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund.
Key points include:
- The Fund is a global equity long/short manager with a long bias and a macro-economic overlay. The mandate allows the Fund to short sell, use derivatives and invest in assets such as commodities & currencies.
- Morphic's philosophy is that only funds with flexible investment and hedging strategies will be able to deliver acceptable, steady, real, absolute returns over the investment cycle.
- The Fund is an early stage, boutique, Sydney-based fund established in 2012 with experienced CIO's, and an investment team of 6 including a risk manager.
- The Board has a majority of independent members with significant risk and investment experience.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
13 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust recorded a positive 2.3% return in March.
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13 Apr 2016 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's bias is likely to be net long under normal market conditions, with the core strategy being to construct a portfolio of listed equity securities priced at levels that do not adequately reflect their underlying value. The Fund will seek to boost returns and limit potential market downside by selective short selling of individual stocks which are priced at levels that are viewed as materially above their underlying value. The Fund will also use certain trading strategies both within its core portfolio (through rebalancing stock weights and overall market exposure in response to price movements) and in certain other situations (typically of a shorter-duration and/or opportunistic nature) with the objective of further increasing returns. |
| Manager Comments | During March, the Fund had solid gains from their high-conviction longs in the retail, media and utility sectors. The hedging through short exposure was not too expensive, with loss attribution of around 0.70% arising almost solely from index futures - the stock shorts broke even for the month. The Fund's stock selection worked extremely well, however the net short through the month, detracted from the returns. At month-end, the Fund's gross exposure was at 72% and net at -15%. Click below to read the latest Fund monthly report. |
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Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
12 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund rose
0.30% in March.
0.30% in March.
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12 Apr 2016 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 | Beadell, BHP and Aconex were all significant contributors to performance, whilst Share Price Index Futures (hedging long positions) and long positions in Caltex and Northern Star were the major detractors. Net equity market exposure including derivatives decreased to 22.6% (43.1% long and 20.5% short) Click below to read the latest Fund Report. |
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Fund Review: Meme Australian Share Fund March 2016
12 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
March Fund Review is now available on Meme Australian Share Fund, that invests in ASX listed securities outside of the S&P/ASX20.
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12 Apr 2016 - Fund Review: Meme Australian Share Fund March 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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Over the past 12 months, the Fund has returned a positive 9.20%, versus the Index's negative 9.59% return.
Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund February 2016
11 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Fund review on Supervised High Yield Fund, a fixed income fund, is now available.
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11 Apr 2016 - Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund February 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Supervised High Yield Fund AFM Review February 2016 (pdf format)
SUPERVISED HIGH YIELD FUND
Attached is AFM's updated Fund Review on the Supervised High Yield Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund:
- The Supervised High Yield Fund (SHYF) has a 6 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 over 33 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.
Supervised High Yield Fund AFM Review February 2016 (pdf format)
The Paragon Fund
11 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Fund returned +7.4% after fees for the month of March 2016.
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11 Apr 2016 - 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 March included longs in the lithium holdings, Netcomm Wireless, Aconex, Mayne Pharma, and the gold holdings. Short positions in Westpac and 1-Page also contributed. At the end of the month the Fund had 33 long positions and 12 short positions. Click below to read the latest monthly report. |
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