NEWS
Performance Report: AIM Global High Conviction Fund
12 Apr 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The AIM Global High Conviction Fund rose +4.13% in March, taking 12-month performance to +20.43%. Since inception in July 2015, the Fund has returned +4.91% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 11.24%.
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12 Apr 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 | Over the past quarter, the Fund rose +2.82%. Top 5 quarterly contributors included Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, Estee Lauder, UnitedHealth and Microsoft. The top 5 detractors were Keyence, Nike, Heineken, and Amazon.com. Over the past month, the Fund sold out of two businesses in full (Salesforce and Novo Nordisk), while also introducing two new businesses (Ninendo and Croda International). AIM noted that, while allowing for the likelihood of unexpected setbacks over the short-term, they believe that the combined fiscal, monetary, and public health policies in place are revealing the path towards a more 'open' and normalised economy in the second half of 2021 and beyond. |
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Performance Report: Surrey Australian Equities Fund
9 Apr 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Surrey Australian Equities Fund has risen +62.84% over the past 12 months vs the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +37.47%. Since inception in June 2018, the Fund has returned +10.56% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 21.86%.
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9 Apr 2021 - 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 | The Fund returned -0.5% in March. Top contributors during the month included Betmakers and People Infrastructure, while a small position in CleanSpace had an amplified negative impact on total fund returns. Surrey noted that, despite the marginal decline last month, they are pleased with the Fund's performance over the past 12 months and since inception, particularly given that this has come at a time of heightened market nervousness and doubt as to what type of returns all asset classes could deliver. Over the period they remained well invested, ending March with 4.5% in cash. The portfolio is well diversified across 31 individual holdings and by sector and size. By sector, Industrials and IT had the greatest weighting. Top holdings at month-end included Auckland International Airports, Betmakers Group, Pointsbet Holdings, Sealink Travel and Uniti Group. |
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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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