Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund

13 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned 0.32% during January and 8.12% for the previous 12 months with a very low volatility of 1.39% (S&P ASX 200 Accum 11.54%).

13 Feb 2014 - Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	12 February 2014
Manager	Aurora Funds Management
Fund Name	Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
Strategy	Equity Market Neutral
Latest Return Date	January 2014
Latest Return	0.32%
Latest 6 Months	2.60%
Latest 12 Months	8.12%
Latest 24 Months	12.10%
Annualised Since Inception	8.12%
Inception Date	15 February 2005
FUM (millions)	AU$161.5
Fund Overview	Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund is a multi-strategy market neutral fund specialising in ASX listed equities and derivatives. The core philosophy is the management of risk through a long volatility overlay incorporating listed equity and index derivatives. The multi-strategy approach includes M&A, Yield, Convergence and Long/Short strategies. The portfolio managers adopt an aggressive approach to managing downside risk whilst positioning the portfolio to benefit from positive alpha. The Fund aims to produce positive returns irrespective of the direction of the share market. For each investment the manager considers the risk, the timeline of that risk occurring and then the potential return. Low transaction costs and liquidity are other important factors in the success and implementation of the strategies.
Manager Comments	Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned 0.32% during January, a down month for the ASX 200 Acc, and 8.12% for the previous 12 months with a very low volatility of 1.39% (S&P ASX 200 Accum 11.54%). The Fund also had a notable Sharpe ratio of 3.83 and 100% positive months. All portfolio strategies were positive with the exception of Options at -0.05%. For the best two performing strategies the manager comments that 'Long/Short (+0.8%) performed well despite mostly comprising of long positions in the small to mid cap space.' and for the Acquisition strategy 'January proved to be a very quiet time for Mergers and Acquisitions (+0.6%) except for Dexus Property declaring its bid for Commonwealth Property Office Fund unconditional. We expect this year will provide a raft of new deals across the market capitalisation spectrum as companies seek to create value, and extract synergies via mergers and takeovers.'
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Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

12 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned -2.12% during January and 9.91% over the previous twelve months with a volatility of 4.01%.

12 Feb 2014 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	11 February 2014
Manager	Kardinia Capital, a Bennelong Funds Management boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	January 2014
Latest Return	-2.12%
Latest 6 Months	3.19%
Latest 12 Months	9.91%
Latest 24 Months	26.17%
Annualised Since Inception	13.62%
Inception Date	01 May 2006
FUM (millions)	AU$124
Fund Overview	The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund is an Australian domiciled equity long/short fund investing in ASX listed securities. The Fund uses some exchange traded call options and there is limited use of SPI futures contracts to hedge overall market risk. 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. 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.
Manager Comments	Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned -2.12% during January and 9.91% over the previous twelve months and a volatility of 4.01%. The Sharpe and Sortino ratio's over the last twelve months are more than double those of the ASX. The manager comments that 'long positions in Vocation and short positions in Webjet and Share Price Index futures contracts were the largest positive contributors to performance, whilst Twenty-First Century Fox, Super Retail and Seek were the largest detractors. Net equity market exposure was progressively decreased during the month to 38.5% (64.3% long and 25.8% short).'
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Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

11 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

Optimal Australia Absolute Trust returned 0.57% during January, a weak month for domestic equities, and 1.60% for the last twelve months with a volatility of 1.83%. Since inception in September 2008 the annualised return is 10.34%.

11 Feb 2014 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	10 February 2014
Manager	Optimal Fund Management Australia
Fund Name	Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	January 2014
Latest Return	0.57%
Latest 6 Months	1.48%
Latest 12 Months	1.60%
Latest 24 Months	5.12%
Annualised Since Inception	10.34%
Inception Date	15 September 2008
FUM (millions)	AU$130
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 returned 0.57% during January, a weak month for domestic equities, and 1.60% for the last twelve months with a volatility of 1.83% over the same time frame. Since inception in September 2008 the annualised return is 10.34% with a volatility of 3.57%. The Fund was 45.0% long and 30.4% short for net exposure of 14.6% as at month-end. The manager comments that they 'still think that 2014 looms as less about a one-way bet on equities and the impact of financial repression on risk assets, and much more about stock selection and risk management. After the large gains in equity markets last year, it may just be that investment allocations are much more 'all-in' than commonly thought. Investors seem to struggle to defend their more over-owned and popular market leaders even at these lower price levels, and an air of caution may pervade for a while longer through what may well be a challenging earnings season through February.'
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Fund Review: BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund

10 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

AFM's updated Fund Review for the BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund for December. The current strategy has returned 8.85% pa since inception (July 2004), annualised volatility of 4.14% and 13.88% and only three negative months since May 2010.

Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

10 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

Morphic Global Opportunities Fund returned -1.66% in January,a negative month for global equities, and 34.52% for the previous twelve months.

Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

7 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund returned -2.32% during January, a difficult market both globally and in Australia, with the twelve return 19.07%.

Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund

6 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

AFM's updated Fund Review for the Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund for December 2013. The Fund is characterised by steady returns and very low risk. Since inception (March 2005) the Fund has returned 8.16% pa.

Cor Capital Fund

6 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

Cor Capital Fund returned -0.22% during December and 1.69% for the calendar year with a low volatility of 6.83%.

Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

5 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

AFM's updated Fund Review for the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust for December 2013 has been released. The fund is characterised by very low risk with an annualised standard deviation 3.60% and a Sharpe Ratio since inception of 1.73.

Fund Review: BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

4 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors

BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund returned -0.01% in December bringing its since inception (Oct 2001) return to 11.77% pa (Index 8.62% pa) with a volatility of 5.63% p.a (Index 13.10% p.a.).

Fund Monitors Pty Ltd

News

13 Feb 2014 - Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund

12 Feb 2014 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

11 Feb 2014 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

10 Feb 2014 - Fund Review: BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund

10 Feb 2014 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

7 Feb 2014 - Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

6 Feb 2014 - Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund

6 Feb 2014 - Cor Capital Fund

5 Feb 2014 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

4 Feb 2014 - Fund Review: BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

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