Laminar Credit Opportunities Fund

16 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Laminar Credit Opportunities Fund rose 0.59% over the month of October and has delivered 7.52% over the past 12 months.

Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

13 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund rose 2.45% to bring annualised return since inception to 12.63% p.a.

13 Nov 2015 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	10 November 2015
Manager	Kardinia Capital, a Bennelong Funds Management boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	October 2015
Latest Return	2.45%
Latest 6 Months	2.37%
Latest 12 Months	9.35%
Latest 24 Months	14.06%
Annualised Since Inception	12.63%
Inception Date	01 May 2006
FUM (millions)	AU$241
Fund Overview	The Fund consists of a concentrated long/short portfolio typically comprising 20 to 50 ASX300 listed stocks, generally with a long bias aligned to the overall market direction. On average since inception the Fund's exposure has averaged 40% net long. There is a slight bias to large cap stocks on the long side of the portfolio, although in a rising market the portfolio will tend to hold smaller caps, including resource stocks, more frequently. On the short side, the portfolio is particularly concentrated, with stock selection limited by both liquidity and the difficulty of borrowing stock in smaller cap companies. Short positions are only taken when there is a high conviction view on the specific stock. The Fund uses derivatives in a limited way, mainly selling short dated covered call options to generate additional income. These typically have less than 30 days to expiry, and are usually 5% to 10% out of the money. ASX SPI futures and index put options can be used to hedge the portfolio's overall net position. 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	The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund rose 2.45% for the month of October. Since inception in May 2006, the Fund has an annualised performance of 12.63% p.a (ASX200 Accumulation Index 4.47% p.a). The Fund has achieved this performance with lower volatility of 7.29% than the Index (14.35%) to give notable Sharpe and Sortino ratio 1.11 (Index 0.09) and 2.11 (Index 0.02) respectively. Vitaco, Aristocrat and BT Investment Management were the largest positive contributors to performance, whilst a short position in Share Price Index Futures, Telstra and National Australia Bank were the largest detractors. Net equity market exposure (including derivatives) was increased to 58.9% (72.8% long and 13.9% short). Click below to read the October 2015 Fund Report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund

12 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

In October, the Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund outperformed the Bloomberg Australian Government Bond Index by +0.85%.

12 Nov 2015 - Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	10 November 2015
Manager	Jamieson Coote Bonds Pty Ltd
Fund Name	Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
Strategy	Fixed Income
Latest Return Date	October 2015
Latest Return	0.85%
Latest 6 Months	2.91%
Latest 12 Months
Latest 24 Months
Annualised Since Inception	6.27%
Inception Date	01 December 2014
FUM (millions)	AU$10
Fund Overview	The Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund (JCBAF) is a long only macroeconomic investment fund. JCB appointed Jamieson Coote Asset Management as the Manager of the Fund. JCBAF's investable universe is limited to AAA and AA+ Government and Semi (State) Government Bonds and agencies in Australian Dollars, explicitly backed by public institutions, creating a highly liquid product with capital preservation and risk adjusted alpha creation as its core tenant. The Fund usually holds around 20 bond securities of differing maturities and generally individual security selection does not exceed 20% of the Fund's NAV. JCBAF seeks to establish a mid to long term core portfolio using both domestic and global macroeconomic analysis. This is overlaid with a number of valuation indicators and international market intelligence from a global network of market moving investors, including central bankers and hedge funds, to construct an optimal indexed portfolio allocation at any given time. The Fund recognises short term oscillations driven by technical factors and supply dynamics create opportunities within short term pricing cycles, which can generate significant alpha when managed within a risk adjusted framework. The Fund aims to outperform its index using duration and curve management at appropriate times in the pricing cycle whilst retaining a core long. The JCB Active Fund gives direct access to the management team whilst providing portfolio balance with increased capital stability and a fixed income streams with both income and principle repayment secured by the Australian or State Governments.
Manager Comments	In October, the Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund returned +0.85%. In comparison, the Bloomberg Australian Government Bond Index return was flat (0.0%) and the equity market (ASX200 Accumulation Index) rose 4.37%. New bond issuance provided the best trading opportunities of the month with large supply concessions available in the new 24yr ACGB 39's and new 13yr TCV 28's bond which generated the majority of our performance. The Fund set steepening exposure throughout the month and will retain through the November RBA meeting. At month-end, the portfolio mix was adjusted resulting in higher holding (53.67%) of Semi (State) Government Bonds, followed by 27.80% in the Australian Government Bonds, with average duration of 4.47 years. Click below to read the Fund's monthly performance and Fund Managers market outlook.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund October 2015

12 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

October Fund Review now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has over 13 years track record & annualised return of 18.25% p.a.

Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

11 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

Morphic Global Opportunities Fund rose 4.02% in October, underperforming its benchmark (MSCI AC World Total Return in Australian Dollars), which returned 6.16%, by 2.13%.

11 Nov 2015 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	09 November 2015
Manager	Morphic Asset Management
Fund Name	Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	October 2015
Latest Return	4.02%
Latest 6 Months	3.65%
Latest 12 Months	22.45%
Latest 24 Months	41.57%
Annualised Since Inception	24.42%
Inception Date	02 August 2012
FUM (millions)	AU$122
Fund Overview	The Fund will primarily consist of Global listed shares, and will generally have at least 50% of its net assets invested in these. It may also have short positions in shares that the Manager believes are over-valued, and likely to fall in price, as well as long and short positions in index futures and other derivatives, fixed interest instruments, commodities, credit instruments and currencies.
Manager Comments	Morphic Global Opportunities Fund rose 4.02% in October, underperforming its benchmark (MSCI AC World Total Return in Australian Dollars), which returned 6.16%, by 2.13%. The Fund has an annualised return since inception of 24.42% p.a., with notable Sharpe and Sortino ratios of 2.13 and 5.11 respectively. According to the Fund Manager, the under-performance of the Fund against its benchmark, can be attributed to three main factors: 1) carrying cash, which is a performance drag in strongly rising markets; 2) style under-performance; and 3) adverse stock outcomes. However, the Fund's biggest win once again came from their large market neutral US Banks position. Other smaller win included a merger-arbitrage position on Australian document storage firm Recall. For the month, the Fund had over 54% 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	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

Fund Review: Meme Australian Share Fund October 2015

10 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

October Fund Review is now available on Meme Australian Share Fund, that invests in ASX listed securities outside of the S&P/ASX20.

The Paragon Fund

10 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Paragon Fund rose 2.50% after fees for the month of October 2015, to bring annualised return since inception to 18.03%.

10 Nov 2015 - The Paragon Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	09 November 2015
Manager	Paragon Funds Management
Fund Name	The Paragon Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	October 2015
Latest Return	2.50%
Latest 6 Months	2.50%
Latest 12 Months	9.07%
Latest 24 Months	34.82%
Annualised Since Inception	18.03%
Inception Date	28 February 2013
FUM (millions)	AU$32.1
Fund Overview	The Paragon Fund is a concentrated long/short Australian equities product that is fundamentally driven with a focus on the industrial and resource sectors. Paragon's own research process and active portfolio management is overlaid with risk management and an overarching focus on capital preservation. 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	The Paragon Fund rose 2.50% after fees for the month of October 2015, in comparison the ASX200 Accumulation Index returned 4.37%. Since inception in February 2013, the Fund has a cumulative return of +55.59% vs. the Index's +15.31%. The Fund has a notable Sharpe and Sortino ratios of 1.30 (Index 0.30) and 2.60 (Index 0.34) respectively. Key positive contributors for October included Longs in Macquarie Group, Henderson Group, NetComm Wireless, APN Outdoor, and Amaysim while detractors included our short positions in general given the strong market. At the end of the month the Fund had 30 long positions and 15 short positions. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's commentary.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

9 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

Optimal Australia Absolute Trust rose 1.4% in October to bring annualised return to 9.15%.

9 Nov 2015 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	09 November 2015
Manager	Optimal Fund Management Australia
Fund Name	Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	October 2015
Latest Return	1.42%
Latest 6 Months	6.08%
Latest 12 Months	4.89%
Latest 24 Months	10.57%
Annualised Since Inception	9.15%
Inception Date	15 September 2008
FUM (millions)	AU$100
Fund Overview	The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to achieve above average returns in absolute terms, through investing in listed securities in Australia and New Zealand, subject to the overarching requirement of capital preservation. Investments will predominantly be in equity securities but may include fixed interest instruments, money market instruments, derivatives and foreign exchange contracts. 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	Optimal Australia Absolute Trust rose 1.4%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation Index return of 4.37%. The Fund's annualised return since inception was 9.15% p.a. (Index 4.88% p.a.). This has been achieved with notably low volatility of 3.67% p.a. (Index 14.63% p.a). The Fund was slightly net long invested during October, but reduced exposure into the rally. The Fund's return was very much driven by stock selection. The long positions strongly outperformed the market, with attribution of +4.1% on average long exposure of 52% of NAV. Key contributors included financials, retail, and commodity group. Short positions were difficult in such a strong market, with attribution of -2.1% on average short (stock) exposure of 29.4%. Click below to read the latest Fund Monthly Report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Hedge Clippings

7 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

GST reform firmly and (finally) on the agenda. What's next?

7 Nov 2015 - Hedge Clippings

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Title: GST reform firmly and (finally) on the agenda. What's next?

This week it seems the GST hit the press (and hopefully not the fan) in no uncertain terms. Regular readers of "Hedge Clippings" might recall that an increase (and broadening) of the GST has been one of our hobby horses since before Joe Hockey's first budget, so we'd like to think someone has at last been listening, but we might be deluding ourselves on that count. In any event now it is on the front pages it is probably time for us to move on, and leave it to Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison to battle it out with Bill Shorten. As unfair a match as that might be, we will all be heartily sick of the argument by the time of the next election.

So while reform of taxation is on the table, and reform of superannuation concessions a part of that, it is worth re-visiting the argument for tying Australia's super retirement pool to the need for increased spending on infrastructure. Taking some basic figures, the total value of Superannuation assets as at the end of June was just over $2 trillion. Research from Deloitte estimates that this will reach $7.6 trillion by 2033.

The taxation of treatment of superannuation has always been generous, partly as an incentive to encourage its initial adoption, and partly as a gift from John Howard and Peter Costello to reward the faithful along the way. There's little doubt this generosity will come under pressure in any taxation review, but the government could introduce a part carrot/part stick approach to encourage/enforce a slice of all superannuation accounts to invest in the currently underfunded infrastructure sector.

By setting a minimum percentage of all super balances (say 10%) to be invested in infrastructure bonds, with a low but steady return (say CPI plus 3-5%), with an appropriate taxation incentive for doing so, two objectives might be achieved at once. At 10% of all balances it would provide $200 billion at current levels, increasing to $760 billion by 2033. In reality at those levels there would be a shortage of projects by that time, but there could be worse problems to have.

Airports, roads, rail, water and power projects all come to mind. All it takes will be some vision, then political commitment, and finally electoral acceptance. Hopefully we now have the prospect of enough of all three to generate the debate.

As usual in the first week of each month there were limited results received, but included the following PERFORMANCE UPDATES:

Meme Australian Share Fund gained 7.12% compared to the ASX200 Accumulation Index return of 4.37%, an outperformance of 2.75% for the month of October.

Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 2.54% in October, to take their 12 month return to 36.02%.

FUND REVIEWS released this week: Insync Global Titans Fund; Supervised High Yield Fund

Finally we hope you enjoyed this week's Melbourne Cup, and congratulations to the first winning female jockey in the Cup's history. Now for something completely different, this news item regarding the obedient, but not too quick on his feet, bank robber in the USA.

And on that note, I trust you have a safe and enjoyable week-end.

Regards,

Chris
CEO, AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS

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Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

6 Nov 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors

Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 2.54% in October to bring latest 12 months return to 36.02%.

6 Nov 2015 - Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	05 November 2015
Manager	Bennelong Long Short Equity Management, a Bennelong Funds Management boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
Strategy	Equity Market Neutral
Latest Return Date	October 2015
Latest Return	2.54%
Latest 6 Months	20.52%
Latest 12 Months	36.02%
Latest 24 Months	20.77%
Annualised Since Inception	18.25%
Inception Date	01 January 2003
FUM (millions)	AU$332.9
Fund Overview	Bennelong Long Short Equity Management applies a qualitative stock selection process to construct a diversified portfolio of paired securities based on relative value. The Bennelong Long Short Equity Management strategy invests primarily in the S&P/ASX 100 and is dollar neutral at cost. 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. The Bennelong Market Neutral Fund, with same strategy and liquidity is available for retail investors.
Manager Comments	Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 2.54% in October to bring latest 12 months return to 36.02%. Long term performance since inception in January 2003, remains sound with annual returns of 18.25% p.a. (Index 7.64% p.a.) and a volatility of 11.89% (Index 13.05%). The Fund performance featured 18 profitable pairs from a total of 31. Also, the top and bottom 3 pairs combined accounted for 13% of the net return, with 87% coming from the broader portfolio. Fund performance was soft over the first 3 weeks of the month on limited news flow, but then performed strongly in the last week from a wave of company specific trading updates. Click below to read the Fund Manager's commentary and future market outlook.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

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16 Nov 2015 - Laminar Credit Opportunities Fund

13 Nov 2015 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

12 Nov 2015 - Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund

12 Nov 2015 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund October 2015

11 Nov 2015 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

10 Nov 2015 - Fund Review: Meme Australian Share Fund October 2015

10 Nov 2015 - The Paragon Fund

9 Nov 2015 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

7 Nov 2015 - Hedge Clippings

6 Nov 2015 - Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

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