NEWS
Performance Report: Quay Global Real Estate Fund
31 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Quay Global Real Estate Fund rose +4.26% in February which, given the sharp increase in bond yields, Quay noted highlights that there is no strong long-term correlation between listed real estate and bond yields. Since inception in...
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31 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: 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 | Underlying constant current stock returns were up +5.3% reflecting the ongoing recovery in real estate values. During the month, the so called 're-open trade' played a meaningful part of in the fund's performance. Strong gains in retail (Brixmor Property, Scentre Group, Wharf REIC) and healthcare (Ventas) underwrote a pretty solid month for investors. At the other end of the spectrum, the main drag on performance were the pandemic 'superstars' including European storage, German residential and data storage. Quay still believe these sectors have very bright long-term prospects and they remain happy holders across their preferred names. |
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Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund February 2021
29 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Capital Aware Fund is now available. The Global Capital Aware Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend...
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29 Mar 2021 - Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund February 2021
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - February 2021 (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL CAPITAL AWARE FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Capital Aware Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Global Capital Aware 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 - February 2021 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Equitable Investors Dragonfly Fund
26 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Equitable Investors Dragonfly Fund rose +24.98% in February, outperforming the ASX200 Total Return Index by +23.98% and taking 12-month performance to +59.82% vs the Index's +6.48%.
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26 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Equitable Investors Dragonfly Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is an open ended, unlisted unit trust investing predominantly in ASX listed companies. Hybrid, debt & unlisted investments are also considered. The Fund is focused on investing in growing or strategic businesses and generating returns that, to the extent possible, are less dependent on the direction of the broader sharemarket. The Fund may at times change its cash weighting or utilise exchange traded products to manage market risk. Investments will primarily be made in micro-to-mid cap companies listed on the ASX. Larger listed businesses will also be considered for investment but are not expected to meet the manager's investment criteria as regularly as smaller peers. |
| Manager Comments | Key contributors to performance in February included Ellume (unlisted) and Scout Security (SCT). Key detractors included Comms Group (CCG) and Spacetalk (SPA). Equitable Investors noted the Fund's listed investments had a strong month with mostly pleasing half-year financial reports. NAV benefited from a revaluation of the unlisted holding in digital diagnostics company Ellume. Reporting season highlights included a significant turnaround in earnings at iSelect (ISU) and the resumption of dividends at Empired (EPD). More broadly, Equitable Investors counted 1.6 upgrades to consensus EPS expectations for every downgrade during February among stocks in their 'FIT' universe (essentially non-mining companies with market caps less than $5 billion). Equitable Investors' view is that rising interest rates are creating volatility in business valuations reliant on cash flows not forecast (or hoped) to drop through until many years in the future. They expect equities broadly to be choppy in the short-term as this shift in rates plays out. |
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Performance Report: Longlead Pan-Asian Absolute Return Fund
26 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Longlead Pan-Asian Absolute Return Fund rose +5.56% in February, outperforming AFM's Asia Pacific Index by +4.46% and taking CYTD performance to +5.66% vs the Index's +1.11%.
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26 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Longlead Pan-Asian Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | Longlead noted the Fund has started the year strongly, with year-to-date performance of +5.66% compared to +1.11% for AFM's Asia Pacific Index. While the absolute dollar profits in the month were generated from the long book in line with the rising market, positive alpha was generated from both long and short positions. Longlead added that with company reporting season playing out through the month it was notable to witness a higher than usual proportion of earnings beats across countries with a general theme of rapid earnings recovery evident against muted expectations. The Communication Services, Materials and Information Technology sectors contributed to Fund performance, while Consumer Discretionary positions detracted. By country, gains were posted in Taiwan, China and Australia, while a loss was generated in holdings in the United States. |
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Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
26 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Quality Equity Fund rose +0.79% in February, taking 12-month performance to +9.77% with a volatility of 15.36%. Since inception in October 2009, the Fund has risen +13.38% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 10.64%. By...
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26 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity 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 typically of 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. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's capacity to protect investors' capital in falling and volatile markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.88 vs the Index's 1.36 and down-capture ratio of 69.16%. The Fund's top 10 active holdings at month-end were Walt Disney, PayPal, Nintendo, Visa, S&P Global, Domino's Pizza, Dollar General, Qualcomm, Microsoft and Facebook. By sector, the portfolio was most heavily weighted towards the IT sector relative to the MSCI while also relatively underweight the Industrials sector. Megatrends to which the Fund had the greatest exposure were eCommerce and Digitisation. |
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Performance Report: Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund
26 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund rose +0.59% in February, taking 12-month performance to +30.19% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +6.48%. Since inception in October 2015, the Fund has risen +14.86% p.a. vs the Index's +9.64%.
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26 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is comprised of a concentrated portfolio of securities outside the ASX100. The fund may invest up to 10% in global equities but for this portion typically only invests in New Zealand. Investments are primarily made in ASX listed and other exchange listed Australian securities, however, it may also invest up to 10% in unlisted Australian securities. The Fund is designed for investors seeking medium to long term capital growth who are prepared to accept fluctuations in short term returns. The suggested minimum investment time frame is 3 years. |
| Manager Comments | Key positive contributors for the month were Pinnacle (PNI +24.3%), News Corp (NWS +18.3%) and Austbrokers (AUB +17.4%). Key detractors were NRW (NWH -29.7%), Redbubble (RBL -23.7%) and National Tyre & Wheel (NTD -17.7%). Prime Value noted reporting season was surprisingly positive given the volatile economic conditions experience through 2020. The Fund had several positive results, some of which included Pinnacle, News Corp and Austbrokers. Prime Value have made some modest changes to the portfolio and continue to be optimistic about the opportunities in the current market. |
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Performance Report: Atlantic Pacific Australian Equity Fund
25 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Atlantic Pacific Australian Equities Fund has risen +24.11% over the past 12 months vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +6.48%. Over that period, the Fund has exhibited lower volatility (standard deviation of 18.76% vs the Index's...
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25 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Atlantic Pacific Australian Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The primary objective of the Atlantic Pacific Australian Equity Fund is to generate a mixture of capital and income returns for investors with a high risk profile, over a 5 to 7 year investment period. The Investment Manager believes that markets are fundamentally inefficient and that active investment management will result in higher than 'benchmark' returns. The Fund has adopted the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index as the benchmark for its performance. The Investment Manager also believes that, on review of many markets globally, no individual style or method of investing will always ensure outperformance in terms of return on investment. In light of this, the Investment Manager may adopt a 'value', 'growth' or 'momentum' style bias, for example, depending on where the market is in its investment cycle. Further, the Investment Manager believes that actual and forecasted events underpin absolute and relative price movements of securities. The Investment Manager will utilise a number of frameworks to assist in positioning the Fund's portfolio of investments. These include fundamental research, quantitative analysis, and macro and catalyst research. |
| Manager Comments | Since inception in June 2013, the Fund has returned +8.71% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 10.09%. The Fund's capacity to significantly outperform in falling and volatile markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.44 vs the Index's 0.64, maximum drawdown of -7.10% vs the Index's -26.75%, and down-capture ratio of 21.15%. The Fund has also outperformed the Index in 9 out of 10 of the Index's worst months since the Fund's inception. |
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Performance Report: Laureola Australia Feeder Fund
25 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Laureola Investment Master Fund rose +0.43% in February, taking 12-month performance to +8.85% with a volatility of 2.08%. Since inception in May 2013, the Fund has risen +16.05% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 5.57%.
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25 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Laureola Australia Feeder Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Life Settlements are resold life insurance policies and can be thought of as a form of finance extended to an individual backed by the person's life insurance policy. This financing is repaid upon maturity by collecting the death benefit from the insurance company. Risk mitigation measures implemented by Laureola include science-driven due diligence of policies, active monitoring of insured through a vertically integrated operation, and investor aligned fund design. |
| Manager Comments | The Laureola Investment Master Fund rose +0.43% in February, taking 12-month performance to +8.85% with a volatility of 2.08%. Since inception in May 2013, the Fund has risen +16.05% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 5.57%. By contrast, the S&P500 Total Return Index has returned +14.02% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 13.64% over the same period. The Fund has achieved a down-capture ratio since inception of -37.45%, indicating that, on average, it has risen during the market's negative months and highlighting the Fund's non-correlated nature. Hedged into AUD, the Laureola Australian Feeder Fund rose +0.3% in February (see the latest report for the AUD feeder fund's historical monthly returns). The Master Fund's performance in February was driven by the maturity of two smaller policies and the purchase of policies at below market prices. Realised gains made up 70% of total gains last month for the Fund. Laureola believe the key to the Fund's long-term returns has been consistency; 77.7% of the fund's historical monthly returns have been between 0% and 3%, while only 2.2% have been below 0%. They noted that to achieve this consistency, they Fund must be genuinely non-correlated and be able to perform when traditional markets decline - this is demonstrated by its down-capture ratio (since inception) of -37.45% as mentioned above. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
25 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The BennelongTwenty20 Australian Equities Fund rose +1.76% in February, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +0.76% and taking 12-month performance to +19.01% vs the Index's +6.48%. Since inception in Nov 2009, the Fund has risen...
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25 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is managed as one portfolio but comprises and combines two separately managed exposures: 1. An investment in the top 20 stocks of the markets, which the Fund achieves by taking an indexed position in the S&P/ASX 20 Index; and 2. An investment in the stocks beyond the S&P/ASX 20 Index. This exposure is managed on an active basis using a fundamental core approach. The Fund may also invest in securities expected to be listed on the ASX, securities listed or expected to be listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities.Derivative instruments may be used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. The Fund typically holds between 40-55 stocks and thus is considered to be highly concentrated. This means that investors should expect to see high short-term volatility. The Fund seeks to achieve growth over the long-term, therefore the minimum suggested investment timeframe is 5 years. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 0.66 and 0.84 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.45 and Sortino of 0.52, highlight its capacity to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility over the long-term. The Fund's ability to significantly outperform in rising markets is demonstrated by its up-capture ratio (since inception) of 124.84%. As at the end of February, the portfolio's weightings had been increased in the Communications, Industrials, Materials and Financials sectors, and decreased in the IT, Consumer Staples, Health Care and REIT's sectors. Weightings in the Discretionary and Energy sectors remained unchanged. By comparison with the ASX300 Index, the Fund is significantly overweight the Discretionary sector (Fund weight: 33.1%, benchmark weight: 8%). |
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Performance Report: The Airlie Australian Share Fund
25 Mar 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Airlie Australian Share Fund rose +0.52% in February, taking 12-month performance to +11.76% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +6.48%. Since inception in June 2018, the Fund has risen +9.08% p.a. vs the Index's +7.66% p.a. with...
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25 Mar 2021 - Performance Report: The Airlie Australian Share Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is long-only with a bottom-up focus. It has a concentrated portfolio of 15-35 stocks (target 25). Maximum cash holding of 10% with an aim to be fully invested. Airlie employs a prudent investment approach that identifies companies based on their financial strength, attractive durable business characteristics and the quality of their management teams. Airlie invests in these companies when their view of their fair value exceeds the prevailing market price. It is jointly managed by Matt Williams and Emma Fisher. Matt has over 25 years' investment experience and formerly held the role of Head of Equities and Portfolio Manager at Perpetual Investments. Emma has over 8 years' investment experience and has previously worked as an investment analyst within the Australian equities team at Fidelity International and, prior to that, at Nomura Securities. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's 12-month up-capture and down-capture ratios, 110% and 93% respectively, indicate that, on average, it has outperformed during the market's positive and negative months. The Fund has maintained an up-capture ratio of above 100% over all time periods, highlighting its capacity to outperform in positive markets. At month-end, the portfolio's top positions included Aurizon Holdings, BHP Group, CBA, CSL, Healius, NAB, PWR Holdings, Tabcorp Holdings, Wesfarmers and Woolworths Ltd. By sector, the portfolio was most heavily weighted towards the Financials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. |
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