NEWS
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
14 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund fell 0.75% in May, taking the annualised return since inception to 10.93% p.a.
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14 Jun 2017 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 | Aristocrat Leisure (+35bp) was the largest contributor to the month's performance. Share Price Index Futures (+23bp) hedging long positions added value given the fall in the market. Other key contributors included RCR Tomlinson (+19bp) and Boral (+11bp). Short positions in retailers, retail REITs and banks were also effective. The key negative contributors included NAB (-32bp), ANZ (-27bp), Incitec Pivot (-22bp) and CSR (-14bp). Net equity market exposure including derivatives reduced from 60.3% to 21.5% (38.1% long and 16.6% short) as the Fund moved from a significant long exposure to the four major banks to a net short position. |
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Cyan C3G Fund
13 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Cyan C3G Fund posted a small 0.2% gain in May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index's return of -2.75%.
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13 Jun 2017 - Cyan C3G Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 | The Fund benefitted from price strength in a few of its key long-term holdings through May. Getswift (GSW) continued its run from the prior month, rising another +21% in May. Afterpay (AFY) and Touchcorp (TCH) also rose (+15%) for the month in anticipation that the merger between the two Fintech businesses is likely to be completed by the end of June 2017. However, the Fund's small holding in Nick Scali was down 10% lower. The Fund is still conservatively positioned but ready to deploy as an opportunity presents itself. |
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APN Asian REIT Fund
12 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund rose 3.37% for the month of May, outperforming the Bloomberg Asia REIT Index which returned +3.14%, by 0.23%.
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12 Jun 2017 - APN Asian REIT Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | Pete Morrissey and Corrine Ng are the Portfolio Managers of the Fund. Morrissey has over 15 years financial markets experience and joined APN in 2006. Previously, he worked at Lonsec and also managed an internationally focused private investment fund as well as spending several years as an analyst in the UK for Nomura, amongst others. He has also completed Masters level academic research papers on both commercial real estate cycles and global property cycles. Ng also has a strong background in property and REITs in Australia, Asia and the North American markets. Prior to joining APN, Ng worked for Aviva Investors (Senior Investment Analyst, North America Real Estate Securities Team) and Goldman Sachs & Co (Vice President, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Real Estate Securities Team) in New York. The Fund aims to deliver a competitive yield with lower risk than the market. The underlying stocks are selected based on a highly disciplined investment approach that focuses on the fundamentals and number of valuation approaches. The universe is expected to be dynamic as new IPO's, other corporate actions take place and / or corporate governance improvements at country or REIT level bring new stocks into focus. The Fund focuses on passive rental earnings derived from well managed Asian REITs listed in mature capital markets and will not invest in infrastructure, property development companies or stocks with a 'loose association with property'. The Fund provides access to a wide spread of property-based revenue streams that are specifically analysed, selected and weighted with the aim of delivering strong and sustainable income returns. The Fund is an unhedged product. The Fund is suited to medium to long term investors seeking a relatively high income and some capital growth over the long term. |
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Quay Global Real Estate Fund
9 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Quay Global Real Estate Fund delivered a +1.8% return for the month of May 2017, outperforming the FTSE/ EPRA NAREIT Developed Index Net TR AUD Index, which returned +1.3%, by 0.5%.
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9 Jun 2017 - Quay Global Real Estate Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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 | Leg Immobilien (German residential property) and Hispania Activos (Spanish Diversified) were among the strongest contributors to the month's total return. However, holdings in Store Capital (US) and Brixmor (US) detracted from the performance. Multifamily/apartments (16.4%), Storage (11.8%) and Industrial (10.9%) were the most heavily weighted sectors in the portfolio. During the month, cash holdings increased from the prior month's 5.2% to 13.3%. |
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Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
9 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund rose 1.30% for the month of May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, which returned -2.75%, by +4.05%.
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9 Jun 2017 - Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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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. |
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Allard Investment Fund
8 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Allard Investment Fund (AIF) increased 1.87% during the month of May 2017 and is up 19.71% for the latest 12 months.
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8 Jun 2017 - Allard Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | Allard's investment approach has remained consistent throughout their history: That is to invest prudently but proactively in well-managed businesses that achieve superior returns on capital in industries with long-term growth potential. The Manager uses both broad top-down guidance and detailed bottom-up analysis to identify suitable markets, industries and companies. Although long only investors, a critical factor in their strategy and performance is the ability to hold cash when they cannot find companies that meet their criteria or are at a sufficient discount to their valuations. |
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Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
7 Jun 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose 2.86% for the month of May, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, which returned -2.75%, by +5.61%.
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7 Jun 2017 - 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. |
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Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
31 May 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund outperformed the market (S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index) posting a positive return of 2.91% for the month of April 2017.
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31 May 2017 - Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Fund Overview | The overriding objective of the Concentrated Australian Equities Fund is to seek investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings, while satisfying our stringent quality criteria. Bennelong's investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis together with proprietary investment tools which are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The portfolio typically consists of 20-35 high-conviction stocks from the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities. Derivative instruments are mainly used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. |
Manager Comments | More than half of the portfolio (63.5%) was allocated in the Discretionary, Health Care and Consumer Staples sectors. The Fund's top holdings consisted of Westpac Banking, National Australia Bank, CSL and Aristocrat Leisure. The investment team continues to remain focused on the company fundamentals, with an eye on value, but only in the context of what one receives in return in terms of quality and earnings delivery and growth. |
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Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund April 2017
30 May 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Titans Fund is now available.
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30 May 2017 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund April 2017
By: Australian Fund Monitors
INSYNC GLOBAL TITANS FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Titans Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Fund's unit price increased by 5.2%, after the cost of protection, in April. The performance was driven by positive contributions from the Fund's holdings in PayPal, Heineken, Comcast Corp, Unilever and Microsoft Corp. There were no negative contributors during the month.
- The Global Titans Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend growth and downside protection.
- Portfolio selection is driven by a core strategy of investing in companies with sustainable growth in dividends, high returns on capital, positive free cash flows and strong balance sheets.
- Emphasis on limiting downside risk is through extensive company research, the ability to hold cash and long protective index put options.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - April 2017 (pdf format)
Fund Review Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund April 2017
29 May 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review is now available on Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund, which has an annualised return of 8.26% p.a.
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29 May 2017 - Fund Review Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund April 2017
By: Australian Fund Monitors
PENGANA ABSOLUTE RETURN ASIA PACIFIC FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund.
- The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund ("PARAP") was established in 2008 by portfolio managers Antonio Meroni and Vikas Kumra. The Fund is a feeder fund into a Cayman Islands AUD share class fund.
- The Fund invests both long and short in Asia Pacific equities, including in Australian and New Zealand, after a stock specific "event" has either occurred or been announced and the portfolio aims to be uncorrelated to the underlying equity markets. A combination of the Manager's experience, thorough research and continuous back- testing identify the most attractive of these events.
- Risk controls include limits on individual positions as well as gross and net exposure. Limits are in place for option exposure and cash borrowing, with stop loss limits on individual positions. Overall the manager is looking to derive returns from the event strategies as opposed to any currency or market exposures.
- Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 8.26% p.a., compared to the MSCI ACWI Asia Pacific Price Index's return of 3.92 p.a.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - April 2017 (pdf format)