News
NWQ Fiduciary Fund
13 Sep 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The NWQ Fiduciary Fund saw a high level of variation in manager returns in August, resulting in a small decline of -0.13%.
Read more...
13 Sep 2017 - NWQ Fiduciary Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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's beta managers posted robust returns, this was driven by the high conviction stock positions of most of these managers. The Fund's holdings in cash and fixed income was reduced to 5% from 7.5% in July, while the Fund's allocation to its alpha managers increased to 70% from 67.5%. |
| More Information |
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
11 Sep 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Optimal Australian Absolute Trust fell -0.29% in August, its first negative return in 6 months, maintaining its position as one of the most defensive in the industry.
Read more...
11 Sep 2017 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | The Fund's long portfolio contributed positively to performance and continues to drive 75%+ of the Fund's return over time, while the Fund's short positions impacted negatively. Strong performers in the long portfolio include Orocobre, CYBG, JHG, CTX and STO while the Fund's long exposure to insurance (SUN), transport (QUB) and retail (WOW) sectors detracted from performance. Shorts in the resource and REIT's sectors contributed negatively along with ARCO's index futures shorts used to hedge against broader market risk. ARCO seek to build modest positions in CBA and Telstra to take advantage of opportunities they feel were created during reporting season. ARCO remain sceptical about the major banks and healthcare stocks, cautious about the major resource companies and REITs and selectively interested in the consumer discretionary and telecommunications stocks. ARCO also remain vigilant of macro drivers, with particular focus on escalating geopolitical tensions and the US economy. As such, the Fund is positioned defensively with a net -2.4% market exposure at the end of August. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust August 2017
11 Sep 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review on Optimal Australia Absolute Trust.
Read more...
11 Sep 2017 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust August 2017
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - August 2017 (pdf format)
OPTIMAL AUSTRALIA ABSOLUTE TRUST
AFM have released the most recently updated Fund Review on the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
-
ARCO Investment Management is a specialist Australian equity investment manager and the Fund has a long/short equity strategy typically with a low but variable net market exposure comprising 40 to 65 stocks broadly selected from within the ASX200.
-
The investment team comprising George Colman, Peter Whiting, and Stephen Nicholls bring 100 years combined experience in equity markets.
-
The Fund has an annualised return since inception of +8.00%. The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.30 (Index 0.26), Sortino ratio of 2.67 (Index 0.26), both of which are well above the ASX 200 Accumulation Index and has recorded over 79% positive months.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - August 2017 (pdf format)
Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2017
8 Sep 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund is now available.
Read more...
8 Sep 2017 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2017
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - August 2017 (pdf format)
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 large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over fourteen-year track record and annualised returns of 16.08% p.a.
- The consistent returns across the investment history indicate 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 0.96 and 1.57 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - August 2017 (pdf format)
Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
4 Sep 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund rose +7.3% in August, outperforming the ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index by +6.5%.
Read more...
4 Sep 2017 - Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | Main contributors for the month were gains in Kidman, Updater, Global GeoScience, Smartgroup, FastBrick Robotics, Wattle Heath and Lynas plus shorts in Telstra, Domino's Pizza and Select Harvest. At the end of the month the Fund had 42 long and 18 short positions. The Fund's cash holdings were reduced to 20.8% from 29% in July. Paragon's short in Telstra was initiated at $4.83 per share in February 2017, premised on rising Mobile & Broadband competition. In August, Telstra downgraded its FY17 results, cutting its FY18 dividend from 29.5cps to 22cps. Paragon's short in Domino's was initiated at $71 per share based on the view that it was an expensive growth stock (greater than 50x PE ratio) under pressure. Paragon are maintaining their short positions in both Telstra and Domino's. |
| More Information |
Quay Global Real Estate Fund
22 Aug 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Quay Global Real Estate Fund has risen +5.4% over the past 6 months, outperforming the FTSE/EPRA NAREIT Developed Index Net TR AUD by +4.4%.
Read more...
22 Aug 2017 - Quay Global Real Estate Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | The Fund will invest in a number of global listed real estate companies, groups or funds. The investment strategy is to make investments in real estate securities at a price that will deliver a real, after inflation, total return of 5% per annum (before costs and fees), inclusive of distributions over a longer-term period. The Investment Strategy is indifferent to the constraints of any index benchmarks and is relatively concentrated in its number of investments. The Fund is expected to own between 20 and 40 securities, and from time to time up to 20% of the portfolio maybe invested in cash. The Fund is $A un-hedged. |
| Manager Comments | Although the Fund fell by -1.3% for the month, it outperformed its benchmark by +0.8%. Approximately +1.6% of the Fund's performance was derived from underlying investments, while the stronger AUD detracted -2.8%. The Manager notes that the RBA's discussion of a neutral cash rate of 3.5% contributed to the strength of the Australian dollar. The biggest positive contributors include Brixmor (US Retail), Hispania (Spain Diversified) and CyrusOne (US Data Centres), while the biggest detractors for the month were Ventas (US Healthcare), Pure Industrial (Canada Industrial) and Mid America Apartments (US Multi-family). |
| More Information |
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
22 Aug 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund was weighed down by its exposure to companies with significant offshore earnings in July.
Read more...
22 Aug 2017 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | Positive contributors to performance included BHP (+0.35%), JB Hi-Fi (+0.29%), South32 (+0.17%) and RCR Tomlinson (+0.12%). Detractors included Aristocrat Leisure (-0.34%) and Amcor (-0.17%), both of which were impacted by the strong A$/US$, as well as James Hardie (-0.14%) and Oil Search (-0.13%). The Fund's short positions outperformed the long positions with Asaleo Care, Telstra and Westfield all making solid contributions. Net equity market exposure including derivatives increased from 55.4% to 60.4% (65.8% long and 5.4% short) as the Manager increased the Fund's holdings in Bluescope, JB Hi-Fi and three of the four major banks (CBA, ANZ & NAB). |
| More Information |
4D Global Infrastructure Fund
21 Aug 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong 4D Global Infrastructure Fund has risen 2.45% over the past 3 months, outperforming their benchmark (OECD G7 Inflation Index +5.5%) by +0.37%.
Read more...
21 Aug 2017 - 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | The fund will be managed as a single portfolio of listed global infrastructure securities including regulated utilities in gas, electricity and water, transport infrastructure such as airports, ports, road and rail as well as communication assets such as the towers and satellite sectors. The portfolio is intended to have exposure to both developed and emerging market opportunities, with country risk assessed internally before any investment is considered. The maximum absolute position of an individual stock is 7% of the fund. |
| Manager Comments | July's negative performance can largely be attributed to the strength of the A$, which was up 4% in the month. With only 6% of the Fund held in A$, the strength of the currency negatively impacted more than 90% of the portfolio. The Fund's weakest performer for July was US rail operator Norfolk Southern (-7.5%), however, the Manager continues to see fundamental value in this investment. The Fund remains overweight in European user pays and emerging markets, but Bennelong have been reallocating some profits from those regions to increase exposure to quality names in North America which have underperformed year to date. Bennelong's outlook for global listed infrastructure is positive over the medium term, noting that there has been a significant underinvestment in infrastructure around the world over the past 30 years, and that public sector fiscal and debt constraints will limit governments' ability to respond, meaning that there will be an increasing need for private sector capital as part of the funding solution. Bennelong believes that new, improved and expanded infrastructure around the world will be compelled by the world's growing population which will be accompanied by an emerging middle class, particularly in Asia. |
| More Information |
Cyan C3G Fund
21 Aug 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Cyan C3G Fund rose +2.3% in July, outperforming the ASX Small Industrials Accumulation Index by +2.5%.
Read more...
21 Aug 2017 - Cyan C3G Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | The Fund's portfolio is diversified across 24 individual holdings with no position accounting for more than 6.5% of the total. The stocks lie across 6 broad industry sectors including consumer staples and discretionary, industrials, health care, technology and financials with a weighted average market cap of approximately $250m. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund July 2017
19 Aug 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund is now available.
Read more...
19 Aug 2017 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund July 2017
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - July 2017 (pdf format)
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 10.74% p.a. with a volatility of 7.06%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 5.27% p.a. with a volatility of 13.78%.
- 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.
AFM Fund Review - July 2017 (pdf format)
