NEWS
Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
17 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The DS Capital Growth Fund rose +6.60% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +3.77% and taking 12-month performance to +15.72% vs the Index's -5.08%. Since inception in December 2012, the Fund has returned +15.15% p.a....
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17 Sep 2020 - Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 | The Fund's capacity to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns whilst avoiding the market's downside volatility is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sharpe ratio of 1.15 vs the Index's 0.53, Sortino ratio of 1.67 vs the Index's 0.61, and down-capture ratio of 45.22%. The Fund's down-capture ratio indicates that, on average, the Fund has fallen less than half as much as the market during the market's negative months. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund
16 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund rose +11.02% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +8.19% and taking 12-month performance to +18.01% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's -5.08%. Since inception in February 2009,...
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16 Sep 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 Fund has an up-capture ratio of 141.6% and Sortino ratio of 1.10 vs the Index's Sortino of 0.67 for performance since inception. This highlights the Fund's capacity significantly outperform in rising markets while avoiding the market's downside volatility. As at the end of August, the Fund's weightings had been increased in the Discretionary and IT sectors, and decreased in the Health Care, Materials, REIT's, Communication, Consumer Staples, Industrials and Financials sectors. |
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Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
16 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The NWQ Fiduciary Fund rose +1.93% in August, taking 12-month performing to +8.50% with a volatility of 9.79% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's return over the same period of -5.08% with a volatility of 25.30%. Since inception in May...
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16 Sep 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 Fund's capacity to limit capital loss in falling markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.09 vs the Index's 0.45, maximum drawdown of -8.77% vs the Index's -26.75%, and down-capture ratio of 13.93%. NWQ noted August reporting season presented numerous opportunities for the underlying managers to deliver stock-specific alpha on both the long (companies that beat expectation and re-rated) and short (companies that missed expectations and derated) sides of their portfolios. The Fund continues to maintain a low net market exposure to protect capital in the event of a sustained market selloff. NWQ believe the current market environment continues to present a rich opportunity set for the Fund's underlying managers. They added that these managers have benefited in recent months from the clear and present themes in the market around the winners and losers from COVID-19, elevated return dispersion among stocks within the index and heightened levels of corporate activity. NWQ expect these features of the current environment to continue and believe the Fund is well positioned to capitalise on the rich opportunity set for long/short investing. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
15 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose +8.49% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +5.66% and taking 12-month performance to +42.43% vs the Index's -5.08%. Since inception in February 2002, the Fund has returned...
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15 Sep 2020 - Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | In a typical environment the Fund will hold around 70 stocks comprising 35 pairs. Each pair contains one long and one short position each of which will have been thoroughly researched and are selected from the same market sector. Whilst in an ideal environment each stock's position will make a positive return, it is the relative performance of the pair that is important. As a result the Fund can make positive returns when each stock moves in the same direction provided the long position outperforms the short one in relative terms. However, if neither side of the trade is profitable, strict controls are required to ensure losses are limited. The Fund uses no derivatives and has no currency exposure. The Fund has no hard stop loss limits, instead relying on the small average position size per stock (1.5%) and per pair (3%) to limit exposure. Where practical pairs are always held within the same sector to limit cross sector risk, and positions can be held for months or years. The Bennelong Market Neutral Fund, with same strategy and liquidity is available for retail investors as a Listed Investment Company (LIC) on the ASX. |
Manager Comments | A large number of the Fund's long holdings reported very strong financial results in August which Bennelong noted they are very pleased with given the economic conditions. The Fund also benefited from a number of short positions having very poor results. The Fund did not experience any material adverse results in either the long or short portfolio. Given the Fund's increased level of volatility recently, Bennelong are running the fund leverage lower than usual. Top pairs included long Crown (CWN) & Pointsbet (PBH) / short SkyCity (SKC), long Xero (XRO) / short Technology One (TNE) and long Mineral Resources (MIN) / short BHP (BHP). The worst performing pairs included long A2 Milk (A2M) / short Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL), long ResMed (RMD) / short Ansell (ANN) and long Orica (ORI) / short Incitec Pivot (IPL). |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund August 2020
14 Sep 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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14 Sep 2020 - Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund August 2020
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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 - August 2020 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Datt Capital Absolute Return Fund
11 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Datt Capital Absolute Return Fund rose +11.82% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +8.99% and taking 12-month performance to +41.41% vs the Index's -5.08%. Since inception in August 2018, the Fund has returned...
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11 Sep 2020 - Performance Report: Datt Capital Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | Our investment objectives are: 1) To minimise the risk of permanent capital loss 2) Generate a net return of 10% through the economic cycle An unconstrained, concentrated approach focused on superior risk-adjusted returns. The investment strategy: - targets long-term capital growth in a prudent manner, with an emphasis on capital preservation and low volatility in returns - aims to outperform in markets where equities are down - diversifies investments across asset classes and duration to reduce risk while maintaining relatively concentrated exposure to attractive investment opportunities - is an application of the Manager's investment process, that has no institutional constraints and is completely benchmark unaware |
Manager Comments | In August, the Fund benefited from its exposure towards precious metals, with gold remaining stable at almost record high prices and silver appreciating significantly during the month. Datt Capital took the opportunity to de-risk the portfolio by cutting back on non-core equity positions. Datt believe they are well positioned to take advantage of any increased volatility in markets resulting from the US elections in November. A number of positive catalysts remain on the near-term horizon for the Fund's core holdings. The manager noted they are finding many opportunities in a variety of sectors, all with high growth potential and return profiles. |
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Performance Report: Surrey Australian Equities Fund
10 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Surrey Australian Equities Fund rose +7.5% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +4.67% and taking 12-month performance to +12.12% vs the Index's -5.08%. Since inception in June 2018, the Fund has returned +7.84%...
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10 Sep 2020 - Performance Report: Surrey Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | The Investment Manager follows a defined investment process which is underpinned by detailed bottom up fundamental analysis, overlayed with sectoral and macroeconomic research. This is combined with an extensive company visitation program where we endeavour to meet with company management and with other stakeholders such as suppliers, customers and industry bodies to improve our information set. Surrey Asset Management defines its investment process as Qualitative, Quantitative and Value Latencies (QQV). In essence, the Investment Manager thoroughly researches an investment's qualitative and quantitative characteristics in an attempt to find value latencies not yet reflected in the share price and then clearly defines a roadmap to realisation of those latencies. Developing this roadmap is a key step in the investment process. By articulating a clear pathway as to how and when an investment can realise what the Investment Manager sees as latent value, defines the investment proposition and lessens the impact of cognitive dissonance. This is undertaken with a philosophical underpinning of fact-based investing, transparency, authenticity and accountability. |
Manager Comments | Surrey noted that throughout reporting season they have noticed the majority of companies have been on the front foot and upfront with shareholders since the COVID-19 outbreak. This contributed to there being no material earnings surprises within the portfolio. While the Fund had a significant number of positive contributors during the month, on the negative side the fund's gold positions were the main detractors. However, Surrey emphasised that they are very comfortable with each of the Fund's gold holdings and expect them to recover. Looking forward, Surrey are watching the US elections given the divided policies of both candidates. They remain confident in each of their holdings and in the ability of the global economy to recover. The Fund's top holdings at month-end included Austal Limited, Imricor Medical Systems, Omni Bridgeway, Pointsbet and Xero Limited. By sector, the Fund was most heavily weighted towards the IT and industrials sectors. The Fund ended the month with 10% cash and 27 individual stock positions. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2020
10 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund is now available. The Fund is a research driven, market and sector neutral, "pairs" trading strategy investing primarily in large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index...
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10 Sep 2020 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2020
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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 16.26%.
- 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 0.99 and 1.67 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - August 2020 (pdf format)
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund August 2020
9 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The latest Fund Review for the Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund is now available. The Fund, which has been in operation for more than 10 years, has a long-biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy and invests in...
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9 Sep 2020 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund August 2020
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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.
- 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 8.82% p.a. with a volatility of 7.28%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 5.47% p.a. with a volatility of 14.37%.
- The Fund also has a strong focus on capital protection in negative markets. Portfolio Managers Kristiaan Rehder and Stuart Larke 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 - August 2020 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
7 Sep 2020 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund rose +8.9% in August, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +6.07% and taking 12-month performance to +26.74% against the Index's -5.08%. Since inception in March 2013, the Fund has returned...
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7 Sep 2020 - Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | Paragon's unique investment style, comprising thematic led idea generation followed with an in depth research effort, results in a concentrated portfolio of high conviction stocks. Conviction in bottom up analysis drives the investment case and ultimate position sizing: * Both quantitative analysis - probability weighted high/low/base case valuations - and qualitative analysis - company meetings, assessing management, the business model, balance sheet strength and likely direction of returns - collectively form Paragon's overall view for each investment case. * Paragon will then allocate weighting to each investment opportunity based on a risk/reward profile, capped to defined investment parameters by market cap, which are continually monitored as part of Paragon's overall risk management framework. The objective of the Paragon Fund is to produce absolute returns in excess of 10% p.a. over a 3-5 year time horizon with a low correlation to the Australian equities market. |
Manager Comments | Positive contributors in August included PointsBet, Sezzle, BigTincan and the Fund's gold and silver holdings. These were offset by declines in Oceana and Stockland (short). The Fund ended the month with 29 long positions, 5 short positions and a net exposure of 125%. Paragon noted they are pleased that the Fund is now back at new highs and they remain excited about their outlook. |
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