NEWS
Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
14 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The NWQ Fiduciary Fund rose +4.13% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +0.67% and taking 12-month performance to +17.30% with a volatility of 6.64%. Since inception in May 2013, the Fund has returned +6.06% p.a. with...
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14 May 2021 - 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 protect investors' capital in falling and volatile markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.18 vs the Index's 0.63, maximum drawdown of -8.77% vs the Index's -26.75%, and down-capture ratio of 13.25%. NWQ noted the Fund's outperformance in April demonstrated the Fund's underlying managers' skills in stock selection, outperforming a strongly rising stock market (Fund +4.13% vs +3.47% for the market) while maintaining throughout the month a modest 30% net exposure to the market. The Fund continues to maintain a modest net stock market exposure of 30% and no direct exposure to interest rates providing the Fund's investors with diversification in an environment where equity and bond market valuations are elevated. |
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Performance Report: Equitable Investors Dragonfly Fund
14 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Equitable Investors Dragonfly Fund rose +1.43% in April, taking 12-month performance to +84.31% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +30.76%. The Fund's 12-month up-capture and down-capture ratios, 252% and 84% respectively, highlight...
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14 May 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 | Equitable Investors noted there were few catalysts within the portfolio in April, but NAV advanced as gains in one of their larger software positions, field services and trades app developer Geo (NZ:GEO), offset a drift in a couple of others, DIY security tech company Scout Security (SCT) and MedTech software play MedAdvisor (MDR). The Fund participated in several capital raisings during the month that contributed positively. The manager remains focused on the company-specific medium-to-long term prospects for Fund investments and they are very optimistic about those prospects. They emphasised that movements in the Fund's NAV within any monthly period will always be influenced by broader market sentiment. |
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Performance Report: DS Capital Growth Fund
13 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The DS Capital Growth Fund rose +4.69% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.22% and taking 12-month performance to +42.20% vs the Index's +30.76%. Since inception in January 2013, the Fund has returned +16.27% with...
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13 May 2021 - 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 Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 1.26 and 1.89 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.62 and Sortino of 0.75, demonstrates its capacity to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund has achieved a down-capture ratio (since inception) of 45%, indicating that, on average, it has fallen less than half as much as the market during the market's negative months. The Fund has achieved down-capture ratios over the past 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months of 15.64%, 66.57%, 73.41%, 64.15% and 66.67% respectively. The Fund has outperformed the Index in all 10 of the Index's worst months since the Fund's inception. |
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Performance Report: Cyan C3G Fund
13 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Cyan C3G Fund rose +2.22% in April, taking 12-month performance to +46.69% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +30.76%. Since inception in August 2014, the Fund has returned +16.15% p.a. vs the Index's +7.70%.
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13 May 2021 - Performance Report: 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 capacity to outperform in falling markets and its superior downside volatility is demonstrated by its down-capture ratio (since inception) of 58.2% and Sortino ratio (since inception) of 1.27 vs the Index's 0.56. Cyan continued to see heightened levels of corporate activity throughout April and, as a result, they participated in both primary and secondary market capital raisings in companies including Raiz, Alcidion and Maggie Beer. Positive contributors throughout the month included Alcidion, Kelly Group, City Chic, Mighty Craft and Universal Biosensors. Key detractors included Playside, Readcloud, Singular Health, New Zealand Coastal and Zebit. The detractors didn't report any specific negative news about their operations or outlooks and, as such, Cyan believe these declines are temporary. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund April 2021
13 May 2021 - 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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13 May 2021 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund April 2021
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - April 2021 (pdf format)
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 19-years' track record and an annualised returns of 14.33%.
- 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 0.85 and 1.35 respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - April 2021 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Collins St Value Fund
12 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Collins St Value Fund rose +1.10% in April, taking 12-month performance to +63.26% vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +30.76%. Since inception in February 2016, the Fund has returned +17.59% p.a. vs the Index's +11.06%.
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12 May 2021 - Performance Report: Collins St Value Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The managers of the fund intend to maintain a concentrated portfolio of investments in ASX listed companies that they have investigated and consider to be undervalued. They will assess the attractiveness of potential investments using a number of common industry based measures, a proprietary in-house model and by speaking with management, industry experts and competitors. Once the managers form a view that an investment offers sufficient upside potential relative to the downside risk, the fund will seek to make an investment. If no appropriate investment can be identified the managers are prepared to hold cash and wait for the right opportunities to present themselves. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe ratio (since inception) of 0.92 vs the Index's 0.73 demonstrates its capacity to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns over the long-term. The Fund has achieved up-capture ratios greater than 100% over the past 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, indicating that the Fund has typically outperformed during the market's positive months over those periods. The Fund's Sortino ratio (since inception) of 1.28 vs the Index's 0.88 in conjunction with its down-capture ratio (since inception) of 38.29% highlights its capacity to outperform in falling and volatile markets. The Fund has achieved down-capture ratios of less than 81% over the past 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. Notably, the Fund's 12-month down-capture ratio of -73% indicates that, on average, it had risen during the market's negative months. |
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Performance Report: AIM Global High Conviction Fund
11 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The AIM Global High Conviction Fund rose +5.76% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +2.29% and taking 12-month performance to +22.48%. Since inception in July 2015, the Fund has returned +5.85% p.a. with an annualised...
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11 May 2021 - Performance Report: AIM Global High Conviction Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | AIM look for the following characteristics in the businesses they want to own: - Strong competitive advantages that enable consistently high returns on capital throughout an economic cycle, combined with the ability to reinvest surplus capital at high marginal returns. - A proven ability to generate and grow cash flows, rather than accounting based earnings. - A strong balance sheet and sensible capital structure to reduce the risk of failure when the economic cycle ends or an unexpected crisis occurs. - Honest and shareholder-aligned management teams that understand the principles behind value creation and have a proven track record of capital allocation. They look to buy businesses that meet these criteria at attractive valuations, and then intend to hold them for long periods of time. AIM intend to own between 15 and 25 businesses at any given point. They do not seek to generate returns by constantly having to trade in and out of businesses. Instead, they believe the Fund's long-term return will approximate the underlying economics of the businesses they own. They are bottom-up, fundamental investors. They are cognizant of macro-economic conditions and geo-political risks, however, they do not construct the Fund to take advantage of such events. AIM intend for the portfolio to be between 90% and 100% invested in equities. AIM do not engage in shorting, nor do they use leverage to enhance returns. The Fund's investable universe is global, and AIM look for businesses that have a market capitalisation of at least $7.5bn to guarantee sufficient liquidity to investors. |
| Manager Comments | The drivers of the Fund's April return were broad-based, with many businesses reporting strong results reflecting the strength of their business models, economic moats and continued resilience during the current period. Top contributors included Alphabet, LVMH, Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon and Intuitive Surgical. Key detractors included Nike and Prosus. AIM believe the Fund remains well positioned to capitalise on a reopening of the global economy, though they do allow for the risk of disruptions on this pathway. The cash generating ability and low debt levels of the businesses they own are their primary defences against any unforeseen short-term developments. They expect there will be an intense focus on input cost and wage inflation over the next several months. For the businesses they own, management teams are reporting that they are encountering rising input costs, to which they are responding by raising prices to protect their margin. |
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Performance Report: Vantage Private Equity Growth 4
10 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
Prior Vantage funds continue to perform well with March seeing a composite performance of +2.80%. Quarterly performance was +14.23% and 12 month performance +60.23%. This strong performance was achieved as a result of the sale or IPO / ASX...
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10 May 2021 - Performance Report: Vantage Private Equity Growth 4
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | These businesses typically have a strong market position and generate strong cash flows, which will allow the Fund to generate strong consistent returns to investors, while significantly reducing the risk of a loss within the portfolio. The Fund will invest in Private Equity funds based in Australia, along with Permitted Co-investments, to create a well diversified portfolio of Private Equity investments. These investments will be made by the Fund, by making Commitments to the Private Equity funds of the best performing Private Equity fund managers, that in turn make investments into profitable companies requiring Later Expansion and Buyout capital to accelerate their growth and enhance their value. |
| Manager Comments | VPEG4 also continues to build its portfolio with two new companies recently acquired by underlying funds including Climate Friendly and Altius Group. Climate Friendly is a profitable, market leading developer of land-based carbon offsets in Australia that works with land holders, managers and Traditional Custodians to regenerate their land and create carbon abatement farms, ultimately earning Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) and securing more sustainable and diversified revenue for their clients. Altius Group is a highly profitable, leading provider of allied health services in Australia that provides a range of services including occupational rehabilitation case management and return-to-work support, employee counselling and wellbeing through employee assistance programs, functional capacity assessments and physical therapeutic treatment to disabled individuals under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Vantage's pipeline of Private Equity investment opportunities remains strong and expects the VPEG4 portfolio to continue to grow in value across 2021. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
10 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund rose +5.11% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.64%. Since inception in February 2002, the Fund has returned +14.33% p.a. vs the Index's +8.25%.
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10 May 2021 - 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 | The Fund's capacity to significantly outperform in falling and volatile markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.35 vs the Index's 0.45, maximum drawdown of -23.77% vs the Index's -47.19%, and down-capture ratio of -162%. The Fund's down-capture ratio indicates that, on average, it has risen during the market's negative months. Bennelong noted that in recent months a sharp step up in bond yields triggered a rally in the type of company they often include in their short portfolio. In April, bond yields steadied, the trend of rotation steadied and the Fund's performance improved. Whilst short term fund volatility has settled down considerably, Bennelong are running leverage slightly lower than normal, and have increased the number of pairs in the portfolio. They think there is a good chance market volatility will increase. Two thirds of pairs were positive during the month, with positive and negative pairs spread across a variety of sectors. The two most profitable pairs both performed well due to tailwinds of the current bullish commodity cycle. Both sides of the Fund's third best pair BSL/SGM announced a profit upgrade. The Fund's bottom pair JBH/SUL featured a sales update from JBH, but more influential on the share price was the surprise announcement that long serving CEO, Richard Murray has resigned to take on the CEO role at Premier. |
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Performance Report: Paragon Australian Long Short Fund
6 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Australian Long Short Fund rose an estimated +22.4% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +18.93% and taking 12-month performance to +97.52% vs the Index's 30.76%. Since inception in March 2013, the Fund has...
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6 May 2021 - 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 | The Fund's strong performance in April came from a good spread across 13 stocks, individually returning greater than +1% attribution. These include Chalice, Adriatic, Betmakers, Cettire, and Paragon's copper, gold and battery-EV stockpicks. The Fund ended the month with 36 long positions and 6 short positions. In their latest report, Paragon give their thoughts on Copper's strong fundamentals and its attractive opportunity set. They highlight that, reinforcing Copper's demand outlook, the 'green-theme' remains front and centre globally where they believe Climate transition has the potential to drive US$2t p.a. of infrastructure investments for the next decade; renewable energy systems require 5x more copper than conventional power generation, and EV require 3x more than conventional vehicles. Given Paragon's 'stronger for longer' view in Copper, they've been actively researching 'discovery' and 'developer' stocks as they expect them to vastly outperform. |
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