News
7 Feb 2019 - Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
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Fund Overview | The Fund aims to produce returns, after management fees and expenses of between 8% to 11% 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 Fund returned -0.49% in December. NWQ say the final quarter of 2018 was reminiscent of the same period 10 years earlier during the Global Financial Crisis with sharp falls across the major indices. They noted few of the Fund's underlying managers were able to hedge out the full extent of the market's fall, thus contributing to the Fund's quarterly return of -6.05%. NWQ pointed out that the reason for this was that the types of stocks typically favoured by managers (i.e. momentum and low volatility) underperformed the types of stocks that are avoided or viewed as short candidates (i.e. value and higher-yield). This resulted in the Fund deviating from its historical profile where prior to the December quarter its average return in negative markets was +0.12%. However, given that years in which the Fund underperformed its historical average in the past (i.e. 2014 and 2016) were almost always followed by years of outperformance (i.e. 2015 and 2017), NWQ remain positive the Fund will once again revert to the mean and make up for the December quarter's losses. |
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6 Feb 2019 - Performance Report: Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund
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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 | The Fund returned -5.49% in December, with the largest detractors being Nvidia, Alibaba and Baidu. Key contributors included Tencent, Broadcom and Qualcomm. The value of the Fund's USD positions rose after the AUD depreciated 3.75% against the USD during the month. As at 31 December 2018, the Fund carried a foreign currency exposure of 99%. The Fund is 94% invested in 22 holdings which the manager considers likely outperformers. The balance is cash. The Fund's top 5 holdings are Tencent (7.7% of the portfolio), Apple (7.4%), Nvidia (7.3%), Alibaba (7.1%) and Qualcomm (6.8%). |
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5 Feb 2019 - Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
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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 | Detractors over the quarter included Aristocrat Leisure, Corporate Travel Management and Flight Centre. Key contributors included Costa Group, Goodman Group and BHP Billiton. Bennelong noted the sell-off throughout the December quarter came about with a shift in investor sentiment to one of 'risk-off', thus resulting in REITs, utilities, gold stocks and big-cap defensives such as Woolworths holding up well as investors sought safety. Importantly, they noted, company fundamentals mattered little. Bennelong believe safety (and returns) ultimately derive from company fundamentals, which include one's competitive position, balance sheet strength, cash-flow generation and growth prospects. They believe the risk-off sentiment will tire and fundamentals will ultimately win out. |
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4 Feb 2019 - Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware 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 | The Insync Global Capital Aware Fund returned -0.74% in December, outperforming the Global Equity benchmark by +2.92% and taking 12-month performance to +4.56% versus the Global Equity benchmark's +0.64%. The Fund's significant outperformance this month highlights the benefit of Insync's put-option protection strategy, especially considering that the Fund's return after fees but before protection was -2.83%. |
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1 Feb 2019 - Performance Report: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
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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 | The Fund returned -2.02% in December. Top contributors included Northern Star (+37bp contribution), Evolution Mining (+26bp), BHP (+34bp) and Rio Tinto (+21bp). The individual stock short book also performed well (+11bp), with shorts in the financial services and waste management sectors the key contributors. Detractors included ANZ (-87bp), NAB (-22bp), Nine Entertainment (-43bp), Macquarie Group (-25bp) and Netwealth (-17bp). Net equity market exposure was reduced from 47.3% to 30.4% (41.7% long and 11.3% short), with the key changes being new positions in Northern Star, Evolution Mining, Transurban and Woolworths, the closure of a short position in Share Price Index Futures contracts offset by seven new individual stock short positions as well as the sale of ANZ, NAB, Westpac and Nine Entertainment. |
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31 Jan 2019 - Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund
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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 | Cyan noted the challenging market sentiment accelerated in December, impacting performance to the tune of -4.2%. This return was not attributed to any adverse stock specific news, a characteristic which Cyan believe is reassuring. In addition, in light of the bearish conditions, the Fund experienced 4 positions that rose, 3 that were flat and 17 that fell. Detractors included Murray River Organics (-16%), Experience Co (-13%) and AMA Group (-14%). Cyan say their views have not changed much from previous months, other than that company specific value appears to be increasingly attractive. Cyan emphasised that when assessing prospective investees they look at individual companies rather than overall markets and, given their strong growth profiles, they wholly believe that the companies in the Cyan C3G Fund will have more intrinsic value at the end of CY19 than they do presently. |
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30 Jan 2019 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund December 2018
BENNELONG KARDINIA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review. You are also able to view the Fund's Profile.
- The Fund is long biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy investing in listed ASX companies with over ten-year track record.
- The Fund has significantly outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index since its inception in May 2006 and also has significantly lower risk KPIs. The Fund has an annualised return of 9.07% p.a. with a volatility of 7.16%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 5.10% p.a. with a volatility of 13.31%.
- The Fund also has a strong focus on capital protection in negative markets. Portfolio Managers Mark Burgess and Kristiaan Rehder have significant market experience, while Bennelong Funds Management provide infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution capabilities.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
30 Jan 2019 - Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
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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 -3.26% in December. Glenmore noted it was a relatively quiet month with respect to announcements from the Fund's holdings. The Fund managed to avoid any stocks that announced specific profit downgrades, however, Glenmore say negative sentiment towards stocks was again the key theme which thus resulted in many stocks declining despite no news. The main positive contributor for the month was Hotel Property Investments. Detractors included NRW Holdings (-11.5%), Jumbo Interactive (-12%), Atlas Arteria, Magellan Financial Group, Worley Parsons and Mastermyne. |
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29 Jan 2019 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund December 2018
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-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over 16-years' track record and an annualised returns of over 15.5%.
- The consistent returns across the investment history highlight 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 0.93 and 1.51 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
29 Jan 2019 - Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
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Fund Overview | The investment team looks for industrial businesses that are simple to understand; they generally avoid large caps, pure mining, biotech and start-ups. They also look for: - Access to management; - Businesses with a competitive edge; - Profitable companies with good margins, organic growth prospects, strong market position and a track record of healthy dividend growth; - Sectors with structural advantage and barriers to entry; - 15% p.a. pre-tax compound return on each holding; and - A history of stable and predictable cash flows that DS Capital can understand and value. |
Manager Comments | DS Capital remind investors that their philosophy is that short term share prices can be influenced more by noise and emotional behaviour, whereas long term share price performance will more often be influenced by the underlying fundamentals. They say that, whilst unpleasant in the short term, the current environment is offering opportunities to those with a longer term investment horizon. DS Capital expect stock markets will remain volatile while a heightened level of uncertainty continues in relation to US tariff policy, Brexit and interest rates. Domestically, they note they'll also have to contend with the economic policy outcomes of the Federal election in the first half of 2019. They believe all of these issues will result in good businesses being available for investment at significantly lower prices and, to that end, the portfolio has 24% cash which they expect to deploy to some extent over the next six months. |
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