News
Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
24 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Quality Equity Fund returned -2.94% in February, outperforming the Index by +2.63%. Since inception in October 2009, the Fund has returned +13.74% p.a. versus the Index's +11.22%.
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24 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 typically of 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. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund returned -2.94% in February, outperforming the Index by +2.63%. Positive contributors included Adobe, Dominos Pizza Inc, Nvidia and Ross Stores. Detractors included Accenture, Apple, Amadeus IT and Walt Disney. The Fund continues to have no currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be skewed to the downside. Insync's core view is that the prevailing low growth and low inflation environment is unlikely to change in the medium term with the recent data only re-enforcing their base case. |
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Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
23 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The NWQ Fiduciary Fund outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +5.82% in February, returning -1.87%. Since inception in May 2013, the Fund has returned +5.58% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 4.84%.
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23 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund aims to produce returns after management fees and expenses of RBA Cash Rate + 4.0-5.0% p.a. over rolling five-year periods. Furthermore, the Fund aims to achieve these returns with volatility that is a fraction of the Australian equity market, in order to smooth returns for investors. |
| Manager Comments | The NWQ Fiduciary Fund substantially hedged out the fall in the Australian equity market in February (-1.87% versus the Index's -7.69%). Two of the eight managers in the portfolio were up during the month with a further three managers recording modest losses of less than 2%. NWQ noted that while results were mixed, all managers operated within their parameters and made adjustments consistent with expectations. NWQ's investment committee believe the prospective environment to be favourable for stock picking as dispersion increases and will be putting additional capital to work in the coming months. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
20 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.82% in February, returning -5.87%. The Fund has returned +16.34% p.a. since inception in February 2009 versus the Index's +10.33%.
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20 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The overriding objective of the Concentrated Australian Equities Fund is to seek investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings, while satisfying our stringent quality criteria. Bennelong's investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis together with proprietary investment tools which are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The portfolio typically consists of 20-35 high-conviction stocks from the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities. Derivative instruments are mainly used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. |
| Manager Comments | As at the end of February, the Fund's weightings had been increased in the Discretionary, Health Care, Consumer Staples and IT sectors, and decreased in the Materials, Industrials and Communications sectors. The Fund's top three holdings were CSL, Idp Education and James Hardie Industries PLC. The Fund aims to invest in a concentrated portfolio of high quality companies with strong growth outlooks, underestimated earnings momentum and underestimated prospects. By comparison with the ASX300 Accumulation Index, the portfolio's holdings, on average, have a higher return on equity, lower debt/equity, higher sales growth, higher EPS growth, higher price/earnings and lower dividend yield which collectively indicate that the Fund is in line with its investment objectives. |
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Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund February 2020
20 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Capital Aware Fund is now available. The Global Capital Aware Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend...
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20 Mar 2020 - Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund February 2020
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - February 2020 (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL CAPITAL AWARE FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Capital Aware Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Global Capital Aware 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.
AFM Fund Review - February 2020 (pdf format)
Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund February 2020
19 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The latest Fund Review on Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund is now available. The Fund invests in ASX listed stocks, combining an indexed position in the Top 20 stocks with an actively managed portfolio of ex-20 stocks.
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19 Mar 2020 - Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund February 2020
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - February 2020 (pdf format)
BENNELONG TWENTY20 AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund.
- The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund invests in ASX listed stocks, combining an indexed position in the Top 20 stocks with an actively managed portfolio of stocks outside the Top 20. Construction of the ex-top 20 portfolio is fundamental, bottom-up, core investment style, biased to quality stocks, with a structured risk management approach.
- Mark East, the Fund's Chief Investment Officer, and Keith Kwang, Director of Quantitative Research have over 50 years combined market experience. Bennelong Funds Management (BFM) provides the investment manager, Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) with infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution services.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - February 2020 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
18 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Glenmore Australian Equities Fund has risen +15.98% over the past 12 months versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +8.64%. Since inception in June 2017, the Fund has returned +21.26% p.a. versus the Index's +8.81%.
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18 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The main driver of identifying potential investments will be bottom up company analysis, however macro-economic conditions will be considered as part of the investment thesis for each stock. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund returned -9.9% in February. Glenmore noted February was a very busy month, with essentially all of the Fund's holdings reporting their results for the last 6 months. Despite the monthly return, the vast majority of the Fund's holdings had excellent results which were overwhelmed by coronavirus sentiment in the last week of the month. Glenmore expect the aggressive market sell-off will produce outstanding buying opportunities over the next few months. Top contributors during the month included Opticomm and Pinnacle Investment Management. Detractors included NRW Holdings, Bravura Solutions, Magellan Financial Group and Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers. Glenmore have not made significant changes to the portfolio with the cash weighting at approximately 15% at month-end. |
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Performance Report: Australian Eagle Trust Long-Short Fund
17 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Australian Eagle Long-Short Fund returned -6.50% in February, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.19%. Since inception in July 2016, the Fund has returned +18.04% p.a. versus the Index's +10.38%.
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17 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: Australian Eagle Trust Long-Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The portfolio's largest positive contributions for the month came from short positions in Link Administration Holdings, Cimic Group and Reliance Worldwide Corporation. The largest detractors included long positions in Altium, Cochlear and ASX. The Fund had 30 long positions and 23 short positions with largest exposure to medical devices & services and technology stocks. There was relatively less exposure in the banking and materials stocks at month-end. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
16 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund returned -5.94% in February, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.75% and taking annualised performance since inception in February 2009 to +13.55% versus the Index's +10.33%.
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16 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund seeks quality investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings. The investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis with proprietary investment tools that are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The investment team manages an extensive company/industry contact program which helps identify and verify various investment opportunities. The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to the ASX-listed securities. The Fund typically holds between 25-60 stocks with a maximum net targeted position of an individual stock of 6%. |
| Manager Comments | The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund returned -5.94% in February, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.75% and taking annualised performance since inception in February 2009 to +13.55% versus the Index's +10.33%. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios for performance since inception, 122.49% and 95.59% respectively, indicate that, on average, the Fund has outperformed in both rising and falling markets. As at the end of February, the portfolio's weightings had been increased in the Discretionary, Health Care and REITs sectors, and decreased in the Materials, IT, Communication, Industrials, Consumer Staples and Financials sectors. The Fund's top three holdings at month-end were CSL, Idp Education and Aristocrat Leisure. The Fund aims to invest in high quality companies with strong growth outlooks and underestimated earnings momentum. The portfolio's characteristics, as detailed in the latest report, indicate that the Fund is in line with Bennelong's investment objective. |
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Performance Report: 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
16 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The 4D Global Infrastructure Fund has returned +19.44% over the past 12 months versus its benchmark's +7.10% (OECD G7 Inflation Index +5.5%). Since inception in March 2016, the Fund has returned +14.27% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 9.05%.
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16 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund will be managed as a single portfolio of listed global infrastructure securities including regulated utilities in gas, electricity and water, transport infrastructure such as airports, ports, road and rail as well as communication assets such as the towers and satellite sectors. The portfolio is intended to have exposure to both developed and emerging market opportunities, with country risk assessed internally before any investment is considered. The maximum absolute position of an individual stock is 7% of the fund. |
| Manager Comments | The best performer for the month was global port operator DPWorld, up +16% as the parent is seeking to take it private given their view that the market is not reflecting true value. 4D noted the balance of the portfolio was largely caught up in a virus-led sell-off which they discuss in detail in their latest report. 4D's view is that in current markets investors should hang on to quality businesses they already own, possibly even adding to their positions. They expect the coronavirus issue to pass, but not without obvious and significant personal and economic pain. |
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Performance Report: Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund
13 Mar 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund returned -1.05% in February, outperforming AFM's Global Equity Index by +4.52% and taking annualised performance since inception in November 2016 to +22.48% versus the Index's +14.39%.
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13 Mar 2020 - Performance Report: Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The investment process involves a combination of top-down analysis with fundamental bottom-up qualitative and quantitative research to derive a risk-adjusted discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation of companies in the target universe. The investment team will generally buy stocks from the pool of securities that are trading below Loftus Peaks' valuation and sell them when they are trading above Loftus Peak's valuation. The approach allows for both fundamental accounting information as well as market-oriented inputs to be factored into the portfolio construction process. Loftus Peak's model typically does not rely on leverage to deliver investment returns and specifically takes into account risk in the valuation process. Capital preservation can be managed by holding up to 50% cash. Index and currency options and futures may also be used to manage risk. |
| Manager Comments | Loftus Peak noted the sell-down towards the end of the month was not pointed directly at the Fund's investee companies, given many of them are the solution for conducting commerce (and living life) at a distance from others while still being connected. Examples given include Microsoft, Amazon, Alibaba, Tencent and Netflix. Top contributors in February included Netflix, Tencent, Alibaba and Tesla. Key detractors included Apple, Qualcomm, Alphabet and Nutanix. The Australian dollar depreciated -4.2% over the month against the US dollar which meant the value of the Fund's US dollar positions increased. As at 28 February 2020, the Fund carried a foreign currency exposure of 92%. |
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