NEWS
Pengana PanAgora Absolute Return Global Equities Fund
27 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana PanAgora Absolute Return Global Equities Fund rose 1.77% in September. The Fund has a low systematic risk (beta) to the ASX200 and the MSCI World Indices of 0.08 and 0.09 respectively.
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27 Oct 2016 - Pengana PanAgora Absolute Return Global Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | PanAgora believes the best way to find opportunities in the global markets is to combine fundamental analysis with robust quantitative techniques in order to filter the investment universe and select the investments. The Fund invests primarily in listed equity securities from a global universe of developed markets and a select group of emerging market countries. The Fund's objective is to seek absolute returns by identifying and exploiting multiple inefficiencies that may exist in global equity markets. These inefficiencies are primarily exploited through the use of a long/short equity strategy which aims to construct a portfolio that is generally neutral to market movements. As such the performance of the investment strategy is largely independent of the market's performance. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by using a diversified set of strategies that have low correlation to one another. In addition, because many of these strategies are designed to generate profit under different market conditions, their combination is expected to result in more stable returns over time than any individual strategy in and of itself. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's performance was driven by the strong performance of the long-term portfolio in the US and, to a lesser extent, internationally. The US sleeve of the long-term portfolio performed strongly due to the stock selection being effective in the Financials, Health Care, and Materials sectors. However, the intermediate and the short-term portfolios slightly detracted performance for the month, at -0.05% and -0.09% respectively. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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Totus Alpha Fund
26 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund returned -5.31% in September.
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26 Oct 2016 - 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 | The September return was largely due to 3 things. First, a long position in TPG Telecom which downgraded earnings for the first time in 5 years. The Fund has since exited this position. Second, there was selling pressure in some of the sustainable yield long positions, so the fund trimmed down during the month. And third, strength in the resources and bank shares, in which the fund continues to hold short positions. At month-end, the fund had a net exposure of 21.1% and a gross exposure of 266.8%. The fund held 111 positions (56 long and 55 short) that were diversified across multiple investment themes. Top contributors were a short position in OFX Group and long positions in Challenger and Northern Star. Biggest detractors were a long position in TPG Telecom and short positions in BHP Billiton and Amaysim. Click below to read the latest Fund's Monthly Report. |
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APN AREIT Fund
25 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN AREIT Fund returned -3.21% in September. The long term performance since inception remains strong with annual returns of 17.90% p.a.
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25 Oct 2016 - APN AREIT Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The senior management of APN FM all have significant experience in their fields. They include CEO Real Estate Securities, Michael Doble who has 25 years'experience having held various senior roles specialising in real estate valuation, consultancy and funds management. Immediately prior to joining APN in 2003 he was Head of Property at ANZ Funds Management. He is a fellow of the Australian Property Institute and FINSIA as well as holding a Bachelor of Business (Property). 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 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 suited to medium to long term investors seeking a relatively high monthly income and some capital growth over the long term. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund September 2016
24 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund is now available.
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24 Oct 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund September 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - September 2016 (pdf format)
BENNELONG TWENTY20 AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund.
- The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund invests in ASX listed stocks, combining an indexed position in the Top 20 stocks with an actively managed portfolio of stocks outside the Top 20. Construction of the ex-top 20 portfolio is fundamental, bottom-up, core investment style, biased to quality stocks, with a structured risk management approach.
- Mark East, the Fund's Chief Investment Officer, and Keith Kwang, Director of Quantitative Research have over 50 years combined market experience. Bennelong Funds Management (BFM) provides the investment manager, Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) with infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution services.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - September 2016 (pdf format)
Affluence Investment Fund
21 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Affluence Investment Fund rose 0.59% in September to take the annualised performance since inception to 10.95% p.a.
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21 Oct 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 | Of the Fund's 25 unlisted fund investments, 16 provided positive returns. The Affluence LIC Fund was the biggest positive contributor to performance, with other strong results from the Cromwell Direct Property Fund, the Microequities Deep Value Microcap Fund, and the Smallco Broadcap Fund. The largest detractors were the Totus Capital Alpha Fund and the Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund. In September, the Fund invested into two new funds, the KIS Capital Asia Long Short Fund and the Heathley Direct Medical Fund No.1. The unlisted funds represented 60% of the portfolio. The Fund's exposure to 23 listed investment companies and 5 other listed entities, represented 24% of the portfolio. The rest of the balance (16%) was held in cash. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's report. |
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KIS Asia Long Short Fund
21 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
KIS Asia Long Short Fund rose 1.45% in September taking the return for the most recent 12 months to 16.55% versus the AFM Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index of 2.95% over the same period.
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21 Oct 2016 - KIS Asia Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Whilst the Fund's primary strategy is focused on long/short equities, the ability to retain discretionary powers to allocate across a number of other investment strategies is reserved. These strategies may include, but not be limited to: convertible bond investments, portfolio hedging, equity related arbitrage, special situations (e.g. merger arbitrage, rights offerings, participation in international public offerings and placements, etc.). The Fund's geographic focus is Asia excluding Japan, but including Australia). The Fund may invest outside of this region to the extent that: 1. The investment decision is driven from the Asian region or; 2. The exposure is intended to mitigate risk or enhance return from factors external to the Asian region. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's return was driven largely by long positions in Cardinal Resources Ltd (CDV.AX) 0.76 and in SJM Holdings Ltd (0880.HK) 0.23% and a short position in the ASX 200 (.AXJO) 0.24%. Detractors for the month included long positions in XREF Ltd (XF1.AX) -0.15%, AviChina Industry and Technology Co Ltd (2357.HK) -0.11% and Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd (0968.HK) -0.11%. Click below to read the latest monthly Fund Report. |
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NWQ Fiduciary Fund
20 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
NWQ Fiduciary Fund returned +0.16% in September and +13.69% over the latest 24-months.
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20 Oct 2016 - 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 between 8% to 11% 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 Beta managers attributed -0.02% for the month, as intra-month volatility made market positioning difficult. At month-end, selective rebalancing was implemented within the Beta strategy, which NWQ expects will provide further return diversification within the strategy. The Alpha managers were better positioned throughout the month and attributed +0.26%. The Fund continues to remain overweight to the Alpha or market neutral strategies to protect again future equity and bond market volatility. Click below to read the latest Fund's Report. |
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Touchstone Index Unaware Fund
20 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Touchstone Index Unaware Fund rose 0.47% in September to take latest 6-months return to 8.26%.
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20 Oct 2016 - Touchstone Index Unaware Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The portfolio is constructed using Touchstone's Quality-At-a-Reasonable-Price ('QARP') investment process. QARP is a fundamental bottom-up process, however, it also incorporates a top-down risk management framework designed to successfully manage the portfolio during varying market conditions and economic cycles. The Touchstone Fund is concentrated, typically holding between 15-20 stocks. No individual stock will ever make up more than 10% of the portfolio at any one time. The Investment Manager may temporarily exceed the exposure limits of the Fund occasionally, particularly during periods of market volatility, to allow for holdings in excess of this 10% limit where the increase in value of the underlying security is due to market movement. The Fund may also hold between 0-50% of the portfolio in cash. The Fund has a high level of associated risk, therefore, the minimum suggested investment time-frame is 5 years. |
| Manager Comments | The main detractors over the month and quarter were investments in the Insurance sector, specifically the holding in QBE. The Fund's holdings in select 'yield sensitive' companies such as Telstra, Goodman Group, and Charter Hall were also weaker over the month and quarter. The investment team believes that the Fund is well-positioned in light of extended financial asset valuations in general and given the heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty going forward. Click below to read in more detail. |
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Fund Review Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund September 2016
19 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review is now available on Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund, which has over 7 years of positive track record and an annualised return of 8.96% p.a.
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19 Oct 2016 - Fund Review Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund September 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - September 2016 (pdf format)
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 8.96% p.a., compared to the MSCI ACWI Asia Pacific Price Index's return of 3.90% p.a.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - September 2016 (pdf format)
APN Asian REIT Fund
19 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund returned -0.70% in September, outperforming the Bloomberg Asia REIT Index which returned -1.53%, by 0.83%.
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19 Oct 2016 - 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. The manager has offered a special 50% reduction in management fee for all existing and new investors who apply by 30 June 2016. |
| Manager Comments | In September, the portfolio continued to have large exposure to Japan at 38.3%, and Singapore at 31.3%. The majority (66.6%) of the Fund was invested in the Retail REITs (40.1%) and the Office REITs (26.5%) sectors. The top five holdings were Gip J-REIT, Japan Retail Fund Investment, Ascendas Real Estate Inv Trust, Prosperity REIT and Mapletree Greater China Comm, which made over 20% of the portfolio with 3 of the holdings above 4% each. Click below to read the latest Fund's performance report. |
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