NEWS
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
11 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund delivers 2.35% during February 2013 and 14.84% for the year ended February, well above its benchmark of the RBA Cash Rate.
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11 Mar 2013 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund consists of a concentrated long/short portfolio typically comprising 30 to 40 ASX300 listed stocks, generally with a long bias aligned to the overall market direction. There is a slight bias to large cap stocks in the long side of the portfolio, although in a rising market the portfolio will tend to hold smaller caps, including resource stocks, more frequently. The Fund was launched on 17th August 2011 following the resignation of Portfolio Managers Mark Burgess and Kristiaan Rehder from Herschel Asset Management in late July 2011. As a result management of the Fund was transferred to Kardinia Capital, a new boutique fund manager 65% owned by Burgess and Rehder, with the balance owned by Bennelong Funds Management. The Fund's investment strategy and prior track record remains intact. |
| Manager Comments | The manager notes that the ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index was up 5.2% over the month despite a domestic reporting season that was only slightly above expectations and driven mainly by cost-cutting and margin improvement. Within the market the notable sectors were Consumer Staples up 10.8% and Financials, up 8.1%. Large caps rose 5.7%, significantly out-performing small caps, up 0.9%. Large positive contributors to the Fund were NAB,CSL, ANZ and News Corp with negative contributions from Fortescue and Regis. Net equity exposure increased to 63.1% (75.8% long and 12.7% short). |
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BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund
8 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund delivers 0.66% during January 2013 and 11.29% over the preceding 12 months.
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8 Mar 2013 - BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | - Australian and International Equity Long/Short - Global Fixed Income Long/Short - Global Macro - Commodity Alpha - Alpha Transport The Fund's goal is to provide investors with a source of consistent, risk-controlled, absolute returns that are over time, expected to have low correlations with the returns of major asset classes. The Fund aims to achieve a return of 8% p.a. before fees, above the RBA Cash Rate Target over rolling 3 year periods. In order to achieve its expected return objective, the Fund will target a total expected risk of between 4-6% p.a. over the same rolling 3 year period. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's performance in January was driven by a number of strategies however the Australian long/short equity strategy was a notable detractor. This was due to the strong performances from many of the more volatile and poor quality stocks over the month. Significant contributions came from long positions in selected domestic cyclicals and stable yield names. At month-end the Fund's risk allocation was Equity 30.4%, Fixed Income 34.7% and Global Macro 34.9%. The Fund has now had positive monthly returns since May 2010. |
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Clearing the Volatility Hedge
7 Mar 2013 - Chris Gosselin, Australian Fund Monitors
While the average return of all absolute return funds has been almost identical to the ASX200 accumulation index over the past decade, it has been achieved with substantially less than half the risk.
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7 Mar 2013 - Clearing the Volatility Hedge
By: Chris Gosselin, Australian Fund Monitors
Clearing the Volatility Hedge
Our CEO, Chris Gosselin writes for Alan Kohler's Eureka Report this week.
Read his article - Clearing the Volatility Hedge here.
BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund
7 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund delivers -2.98% during January 2013 and 6.22% for the previous 12 months.
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7 Mar 2013 - BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's portfolio primarily consists of long and short Australian equity positions. The Fund may also invest in other funds managed by BlackRock. Derivative securities, such as futures, forwards, swaps and options, can be used to manage risk and return Key insights into the investment process include: - Analyst Expectations - Relative Valuation - Earnings Quality - Market Signals - Timing Short-Term return enhancing opportunities including: - Dividend reinvestment plans - Manging index changes - Managing cash flows - Arbitrage - Initial public offerings and Seasoned Equity Offerings - Off Market Buybacks |
| Manager Comments | The manager notes that January saw strong performances from many of the more volatile and poor quality stocks. The portfolio suffered from strong rallies in several specific stocks in the resources sector as the market rewarded good news catalysts, despite resources under-performing overall. Significant positive contributions to the portfolio came from long positions in selected domestic cyclicals and stable yield names. Two of the Fund’s top contributors for the month were the long positions in Aristocrat Leisure (ALL) and Flight Centre (FLT). Among the top detractors were the short positions in Linc Energy (LNC) and Alumina(AWC). The Fund has notable sector over-weights in Materials, Consumer Discretionary and Financials and a zero weight in Consumer Staples. |
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Microequities Deep Value Microcap Fund
6 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Microequities Deep Value Microcap Fund delivers 0.83% for February 2013 and 29.74% for the preceding 12 months.
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6 Mar 2013 - Microequities Deep Value Microcap Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund makes investments with a medium to long term time horizon of between 12 months to 3-5 years in the companies it selects for investment. The Fund invests in companies generating positive earnings (EBITDA) for at least 2 years with a stable management and track record for delivering value to shareholders. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund used the past month to purchase additional stakes in some of the best businesses in the utilities sector and telecommunications, taking advantage of weaker share prices in those sectors. The Fund also exited Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) after a holding period that dates back to the Fund’s inception. The manager notes that they are admirers of Webjet as a business, its management and the board but the decision to dis-invest was based on the fact that it was trading well above intrinsic value. In terms of outlook the Australian economy is poised for an interesting year. A number of industries like construction, manufacturing, and to a lesser extent retailing are experiencing difficult operating climates. Across the services sector there are pockets of buoyancy whilst the mining sector, despite the negative headlines, is still providing a supportive role in economic growth. The overall mix of these scenarios means domestic 2013 GDP is likely to come in below trend growth rate of 3%, and hover between 2.0% to 2.6%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Buffet Pulls Ahead
6 Mar 2013 - Sean Webster, Australian Fund Monitors
Warren Buffett’s $1 million bet in January 2008 that an equity Index fund would beat a suite of fund of hedge funds over 10 years has recently received significant press coverage.
The bet was between Buffett and Protégé Partners,...
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6 Mar 2013 - Buffet Pulls Ahead
By: Sean Webster, Australian Fund Monitors
Buffet Pulls Ahead (pdf format)
BUFFETT PULLS AHEAD
Warren Buffett's $1 million bet in January 2008 that an equity Index fund would beat a suite of fund of hedge funds over 10 years has recently received significant press coverage.
The bet was between Buffett and Protégé Partners, a New York hedge fund of funds. Protégé selected five funds of hedge funds to compete against Buffett's selection of a Vanguard fund tracking the S&P 500 Index. A charity chosen by the winner will receive the $1 million when the bet ends on December 31, 2017.
As on January 1, 2013, after five years and half way through the bet, Buffet's choice of index fund has finally moved ahead of the fund of funds for the first time, having returned 8.69% compared with the five fund-of-funds return of 0.13%. At the end of the previous year the Index fund lagged by 0.38%.
The identity of the underlying funds has never been disclosed. However the results of the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index have been used as a proxy, as it has roughly tracked the hedge funds chosen, after adjusting for extra fees.
A number of points need to be raised with respect to the performance of the hedge fund of funds. Firstly fund selection can be like stock selection, choosing the best manager is critical to performance.
Secondly Fund of Funds traditionally underperform single funds. They may provide great diversification, but that generally dampens returns even if it does provide much lower volatility.
The main point is that the Index fund had a very significant drawdown of almost -37% in 2008 while the hedge funds fell -24% and deep drawdowns significantly damage the value of compounding. For example, assuming an average return of 5.5% pa over 10 years, $100 accumulates to $170.81 over that time. However assuming a 40% market pullback in year 5 the value declines to $78.41. Even if the 5.5% returns commence again at this point until the end of ten years the value only rises to $97.1 0. Over the decade the investor loses 3%.
Read the entire article from Sean Webster, AFM Research and Database Manager here.
Buffet Pulls Ahead (pdf format)
K2 Select International Absolute Return Fund
5 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The K2 Select International Absolute Return Fund delivers 1.8% for February 2013 and 13.7% for the previous 12 months.
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5 Mar 2013 - K2 Select International Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The fund maintained net equity exposure in a 95-100% range over February. With global markets somewhat mixed and in many cases volatile, the regional variance of markets was quite big with the fund's best performance achieved in Australia, US and Europe, with Asia the main weak spot. At the stock level, Google, a new investment and also the funds largest investment was the biggest contributor to performance over the month. Elsewhere large contributions came from French food tester Eurofins and US refiner Marathon Petroleum. The manager's outlook for equity markets remains positive but indicates that the Italian election result, weak Chinese economic data, the onset of sequestration and the pending budget funding approval in the US all represent near term risks which are likely to cause some volatility in markets over the short term. However the manager notes that the real risk to markets will come when central banks either choose or are forced to change tack on monetary stimulus. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Nanuk Clean Energy Fund
4 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Nanuk Clean Energy Fund delivers 7.72% during January 2013 and 10.94% over the preceding 12 months.
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4 Mar 2013 - Nanuk Clean Energy Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | Wind stocks were particularly strong during January.The share prices of European wind equipment manufacturers and project developers responded to Decemberʼs announcement of an extension to the US Production Tax Credit, a mechanism responsible for most of the wind development activity in the US. Also during the month, Chinaʼs energy plan for the period of 2011-15, was released which included a wind installation target of 18GW, ahead of most expectations. Share prices in Chinese wind equipment manufacturers and developers responded positively. At January month-end the Fund was 83% long and 73% short for a gross exposure of 156% and a net long exposure of 14%. The Fundʼs five largest long positions were a European wind farm operator, an energy storage solutions supplier, a Chinese hydro-power generator, a European renewable energy power operator and high voltage cable manufacturer. The five largest short positions were a European energy efficiency and insulation supplier, an electric equipment supplier, two energy equipment suppliers and an industrial chemicals supplier. After two months of solid gains supported by positive industry developments, we are more confident that 2012 represented a share price floor for a number of clean energy companies. Nevertheless we remain cautious about a possible market pull back in the near term. |
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LHC Capital Australia High Conviction Fund
1 Mar 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The LHC Capital Australia High Conviction Fund delivers 0.12% during January and 16.7% for the preceding 12 months.
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1 Mar 2013 - LHC Capital Australia High Conviction Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Fund has significant sector under/over weightings with over-weights in financials at 23%, healthcare at 17% and materials 16%. Notable under-weights were Energy at 2% and Consumer Discretionary at 2%. The most profitable holdings were Mayne Pharma with a contribution of 2.29%, Technology One 0.44% and Freedom Foods 0.43%. Loss positions were Teranga Gold with a -0.98% contribution, Reva Medical -0.40% and Platinum AM -0.40%. In terms of exposures the fund was 81.2% long and 26.6% short for a gross exposure of 107.8% and net exposure of 54.6%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Prime Value Growth Fund
28 Feb 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Prime Value Growth Fund delivers 5.3% during January, out-performing the ASX 200 benchmark, and 14.5% over the previous twelve months.
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28 Feb 2013 - Prime Value Growth Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | Stock selection was positive across most sectors. The stocks which contributed the most to performance included the banks, particularly National Australia Bank (up 9.4%), Computershare (up 16.5%) and Monadelphous (up 9.1%). The only company to detract from performance was Whitehaven Coal (down 6.3%), which warned that first half earnings would be well below expectations due to weak coal markets and strong Australian dollar. At a stock level, the fund prefers to combine companies with attractive growth characteristics which are witnessing positive revisions, particularly dividend revisions. The fund is also favoring stocks with strong balance sheets which have the capacity and opportunity to put their balance sheets to work. The manager's view is that the Australian equity market is not expensive especially versus some other financial assets. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
