NEWS
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
13 Jan 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund rose 1.45% in December to take annualised returns since inception to 11.22% p.a.
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13 Jan 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 | ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank, and Commonwealth Bank were the largest positive contributors to performance whilst Shaver Shop, HUB 24 and a short position in Duet were the largest detractors. Net equity market exposure (including derivatives) was reduced by the end of the month to 49.9% (52.5% long and 2.6% short). |
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Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
13 Jan 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund returned +0.80% in December and +24.73% for the latest 24-months.
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13 Jan 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. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's positive performance for the year was generated from small and midcaps companies (market capitalisations up to $1.5b). Long and pair positions drove the positive performance, while absolute shorts and SPI shorts (for hedging purposes), detracted from overall returns. Attribution from resources was the biggest sector contributor to the Fund. The market rotation over the last few months has begun to offer attractive opportunities in Australia and the investment team is confident that the Fund is well placed to capitalise current and future opportunities. |
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Cyan C3G Fund
12 Jan 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Cyan C3G Fund returned -1.00% in December, to take the annualised return since inception to 27.15% p.a.
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12 Jan 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's negative result in the month was primarily due to its position in Bellamy's (BAL) due to a shock downgrade. In December, the Fund also took small positions in two IPOs: Axesstoday (AXL), which is an equipment finance business and GetSwift (GSW), which provides subscription-based cloud software to small-medium size business to manage their delivery networks. Despite some new stocks, the Fund still contains around 50% in cash and hence is well placed to take advantage of attractive opportunities. |
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Allard Investment Fund
11 Jan 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Allard Investment Fund's (AIF) rose 0.57% for the month of December 2016 (MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan A$ +1.28%).
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11 Jan 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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Totus Alpha Fund
11 Jan 2017 - Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund returned +2.74% in December and +31.65% for the latest 24-months.
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11 Jan 2017 - Totus Alpha Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is a long/short investment fund principally investing in listed entities, commodities, futures and options in Australia and internationally. The Fund is not a market neutral fund and accordingly may switch between net long positions and net short positions. The Fund may use short sales and derivatives. Gearing may be used to enhance returns and the Fund may be geared in excess of 100% of the Fund's Net Asset Value. There is a limit to net exposure of 150%. |
| Manager Comments | Top contributors in December were the long positions in Bapcor +1.33%, SmartGroup + 0.86% and McMillan Shakespeare +0.53%. Biggest detractors were a short position in G8 Education -0.54% and long positions in Hansen -0.39% and Altium -0.30%. At month-end (31 December), the Fund had a net exposure of 57.2% and a gross exposure of 213.4%. The Fund held 105 positions (47 long and 58 short). |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund November 2016
23 Dec 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review is now available on Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund, which has over 10 years of positive track record.
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23 Dec 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund November 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - November 2016 (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 a nine-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 11.16% p.a. with a volatility of 7.24%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 4.88% p.a. with a volatility of 14.07%.
- 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 - November 2016 (pdf format)
Insync Global Titans Fund
22 Dec 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Titans Fund returned +0.40% in November, compared to the MSCI All Country World ex-Australia Net Total Return Index in $A, which returned +3.80%.
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22 Dec 2016 - Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Insync employs four simple screens to narrow the universe of over 40,000 listed companies globally to a focus group of high quality companies that it believes have the potential to consistently grow their profits and dividends. These screens are size of the company, balance sheet performance, valuation and dividend quality. Companies that pass this due diligence process are then valued using dividend discount models, free cash flow yield and proprietary implied growth and expected return models. The end result is a high conviction portfolio of typically 15-30 stocks. The principal investments will be in shares of companies listed on international stock exchanges (including the US, Europe and Asia). The Fund may also hold cash, derivatives (for example futures, options and swaps), currency contracts, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The Fund may also invest in various types of international pooled investment vehicles. At times, Insync may consider holding higher levels of cash if valuations are full and it is difficult to find attractive investment opportunities. When Insync believes markets to be overvalued, it may hold part of its resources in cash, or use derivatives as a way of reducing its equity exposure. Insync may use options, futures and other derivatives to reduce risk or gain exposure to underlying physical investments. The Fund may purchase put options on market indices or specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. |
| Manager Comments | The performance was driven by positive contributions from the holdings in Comcast, McDonald's, Oracle and Microsoft. The main negative contributors were PayPal, Nestle, Heineken, Visa and Medtronic. The Fund continues to have no foreign currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside. Over 50% of the Fund is currently protected using the put protection strategy. |
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Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust November 2016
22 Dec 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review on Optimal Australian Absolute Trust.
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22 Dec 2016 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust November 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - November 2016 (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;
- Optimal Australia 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 nearly 100 years combined experience in equity markets.
- In October, the Fund rose 0.95%, to take annualised return since inception to 8.59% p.a. The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.39 (Index 0.21), Sortino ratio of 2.92 (Index 0.19), both of which are well above the ASX 200 Accumulation Index and has recorded 80% positive months.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - November 2016 (pdf format)
Fund Review: APN Asian REIT Fund November 2016
21 Dec 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
November Fund Review is now available on APN Asian REIT Fund, a property securities fund, investing primarily in the Asian REITS.
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21 Dec 2016 - Fund Review: APN Asian REIT Fund November 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - November 2016 (pdf format)
APN Asian REIT Fund
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the APN Asian REIT Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- APN is an ASX-listed fund manager specialising in property investment, with an investment team of six. Established in 1996, APN now has FUM of $A2.4bn including four REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) funds.
- The APN Asian REIT Fund (Fund) is a property securities fund that invests in a quality portfolio of Asian REITs, listed on the securities exchanges of the Asian Region, with the ability to hold some cash and fixed interest investments.
- 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 can include 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 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.
- APN's Asian REIT Fund invests in a portfolio of 25-40 listed Asian REITs with a core philosophy of investing in properties with sustainable rental income streams.
- The Fund has delivered an annualised return of 14.59% p.a., since inception in July 2011 with a standard deviation of 9.62% p.a. The Sharpe and Sortino ratios are 1.19 and 2.10 respectively.
AFM Fund Review - November 2016 (pdf format)
Affluence Investment Fund
21 Dec 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Affluence Investment Fund returned +0.16% in November to take prior 24-months to 20.68%.
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21 Dec 2016 - Affluence Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund does not invest directly into any asset class, rather, it invests in investment managers which satisfy Affluence Funds Management's investment criteria; its investment philosophy is based on a formula developed by CEO/Portfolio Manager Daryl Wilson since the start of his career in 1999. The Fund targets total returns of at least 5% above inflation over rolling 3 year periods with volatility of returns less than 50% of the ASX200 Index. The Fund also aims to provide investors with a distribution yield of at least 5% p.a. Finally, the Fund aims to outperform the Australian stock market (S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index) by at least 5% in any year in which that index delivers a negative return. To ensure appropriate diversity of managers and limit the potential for conflicts of interest, no more than 20% of the Fund will be invested with any one manager. Affluence seeks to achieve the Funds' investment objective by choosing attractively priced investments overseen by quality managers. The Fund uses a number of processes to identify potential investments including quantitative screens for investments which meet historical performance, volatility and other criteria. They also use a number of external researchers and information sources to assist in this process. |
| Manager Comments | The returns for the Fund's underlying investments ranged from negative 10% to positive 4%. In November, the Fund took advantage of market volatility and added to some existing investments. These included the Phoenix Opportunities Fund, Baker Steel Gold Fund, Smallco Broadcap Fund and Smallco Investment Fund, and the Affluence LIC Fund. At the end of November, the Fund held investments in 23 unlisted funds, representing 58% of the total portfolio. The Affluence LIC Fund accounted for 19% of the total portfolio and provided exposure to 21 LIC's. The Fund held investments in 5 other listed entities which represented 6% of the total portfolio, with the remaining 17% held in cash. |
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