Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund

22 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

Auscap's emerging Australian long short equity fund gains 5.84% in September, taking YTD performance to an impressive +36.48% as the manager approaches the first anniversary of their launch last December.

Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

18 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

AFM's updated Fund Review for BKARF, showing 12 month return of 13.69%, KPI's for September 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.

BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

18 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

The BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund has a low overall risk profile with an annualised volatility of 5.69% (13.19% for the Index) since inception in Sept 2001.

18 Oct 2013 - BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	17 October 2013
Manager	BlackRock Asset Management Australia Limited
Fund Name	BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund
Strategy	Equity Market Neutral
Latest Return Date	September 2013
Latest Return	-0.64%
Latest 6 Months	2.41%
Latest 12 Months	5.25%
Latest 24 Months	18.29%
Annualised Since Inception	11.99%
Inception Date	31 August 2001
FUM (millions)	AU$734
Fund Overview	The BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund aims to deliver returns that are 8% per annum above those of the RBA Cash Rate Target before fees, over rolling 3 year periods. 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 and Timing. Short-Term return enhancing opportunities including: Dividend reinvestment plans, Manging index changes, Managing cash flows and Arbitrage, Initial public offerings and Seasoned Equity Offerings and Off Market Buybacks.
Manager Comments	The BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund has a low overall risk profile with an annualised volatility of 5.69% (13.19% for the Index) since inception in Sept 2001. The Fund returned -0.64% during September. The Fund had little net exposure to the global risk sentiment effects, with offsetting long mining and short mining services positions. Stock picking within the domestic sectors added value, especially during the lead up to the August reporting season, when many companies made pre-emptive announcements to foreshadow poor results. Themes of new media versus old media, and online retail versus department stores, added value here. The out-performance of domestic cyclicals post the results season was a net negative for the Fund, with the primary detractors being building materials.
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Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

17 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Morphic Global Opportunities Fund returned 0.26% during September and 29.91% for the last 12 months achieved with a notable Sharpe ratio of 2.91.

17 Oct 2013 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	16 October 2013
Manager	Morphic Asset Management
Fund Name	Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2013
Latest Return	0.26%
Latest 6 Months	18.81%
Latest 12 Months	29.91%
Latest 24 Months
Annualised Since Inception	32.86%
Inception Date	02 August 2012
FUM (millions)	AU$32
Fund Overview	The Fund will primarily consist of Global listed shares, and will generally have at least 50% of its net assets invested in these. It may also have short positions in shares that the Manager believes are over-valued, and likely to fall in price, as well as long and short positions in index futures and other derivatives, fixed interest instruments, commodities, credit instruments and currencies.
Manager Comments	The Morphic Global Opportunities Fund returned 0.26% during September and 29.91% for the last 12 months achieved with a notable Sharpe ratio of 2.91. The Fund had a net exposure of 98% and gross exposure of 139% at month-end. The Fund ended the month underweight the US and overweight Japan, Europe and Emerging Markets; reflecting the view that a trend that began in April of industrial and cyclical stocks outperforming more defensive equities is set to continue. Accelerating global demand and ample liquidity should be a potent mix for shares and the Fund is therefore fully invested. Forward indicators for growth across many countries are accelerating at rates not seen for more than two years and Chinese 'hard landing' fears have receded. The biggest single risk is the US budgetary battle. While the Manager's core view is that this will be resolved, the implications of protracted negotiations could be material. The Manager has therefore established a number of hedges to protect from short term volatility and the tail risks associated with a US technical default on its obligations.
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Insync Global Titans Fund

16 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

Insync Global Titans Fund has just completed it's fourth year with a return of 9.26% (ASX 200 Accum 7.03%) and annualised volatility of 8.34% (Index 12.35%) since inception.

Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

15 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

Optimal Australia Absolute Trust recorded 0.43% in September bringing the since inception (Sept 2008) return to 10.85%. Annualised volatility is 3.62% vs 15.37% for the ASX 200 Accum over the same time frame.

15 Oct 2013 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	14 October 2013
Manager	Optimal Fund Management Australia
Fund Name	Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2013
Latest Return	0.43%
Latest 6 Months	1.26%
Latest 12 Months	2.78%
Latest 24 Months	8.42%
Annualised Since Inception	10.85%
Inception Date	15 September 2008
FUM (millions)	AU$154
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 recorded 0.43% in September bringing it's since inception (Sept 2008) return to 10.85% vs 5.00% for the ASX 200 Accum. The Fund's risk controls are indicated by the very low annualised volatility of 3.62% vs 15.37% for the Index over the same time frame. The Manager notes that at a market level, there has still been little change in the pattern of leadership. Despite very rich valuations, defensive yield and financials still seem to attract the majority of fresh money flows in our market, and the Fed's recent actions may continue to limit the perceived utility of valuation for a while longer, dangerous as that is. In this environment, hedging risk has been a frustrating and expensive exercise, although in the Manager's view, an increasingly essential one. Risk still strikes the Manager as being asymmetrically priced, with only low single-digit returns on offer from equity and debt securities if things hold together, and the prospect of much more substantial losses if they do not.
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Fund Review: BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

11 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

The BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund portfolio consists of approx. 180 stocks in equally weighted long and short portfolios to maximise potential returns while minimising market volatility.

Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

10 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund is a research driven, market and sector neutral, "pairs" trading strategy investing primarily in large cap stocks from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with a ten year track record and annualised net returns of...

Fund Review: Prism Active Equity Fund

9 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

AFM's updated Fund Review for the Prism Active Equity Fund for August 2013. To date the Fund has delivered 5.59% and, in keeping with it's low volatility mandate, has an annualised standard deviation of 2.48% (since inception in October...

Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

8 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors

Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned 0.93% for September bringing it's since inception (May 2006) return to 14.08% pa as compared to the ASX 200 Accumulation return of 4.44% pa.

8 Oct 2013 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	14 October 2013
Manager	Kardinia Capital, a Bennelong Funds Management boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2013
Latest Return	0.93%
Latest 6 Months	4.55%
Latest 12 Months	13.69%
Latest 24 Months	27.19%
Annualised Since Inception	14.08%
Inception Date	01 May 2006
FUM (millions)	AU$105.2
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 0.93% for September bringing it's since inception (May 2006) return to 14.08% pa as compared to the ASX 200 Accumulation return of 4.44% pa. The Fund's annualised volatility is 7.85% which is low compared to the Index's volatility of 14.79%, over the same time frame. Long positions in Bank of Queensland, Seek and JB Hi-Fi were all meaningful positive contributors. The largest detractors from performance were Share Price Index Futures contracts (hedging long positions), CSL and BHP. Net equity market exposure including derivatives was increased slightly to 29.6% (67.7% long and 38.1% short).
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Fund Monitors Pty Ltd

News

22 Oct 2013 - Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund

18 Oct 2013 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

18 Oct 2013 - BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

17 Oct 2013 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund

16 Oct 2013 - Insync Global Titans Fund

15 Oct 2013 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

11 Oct 2013 - Fund Review: BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund

10 Oct 2013 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

9 Oct 2013 - Fund Review: Prism Active Equity Fund

8 Oct 2013 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

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