Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund

14 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund returned 1.67% in September, compared to MSCI ACWI Asia Pacific markets which were returned +1.13%.

14 Oct 2016 - Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	12 October 2016
Manager	Pengana Capital
Fund Name	Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	1.67%
Latest 6 Months	-1.96%
Latest 12 Months	3.76%
Latest 24 Months	5.15%
Annualised Since Inception	8.96%
Inception Date	01 September 2010
FUM (millions)	AU$73.2
Fund Overview	The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund employs an event-driven investment strategy that seeks to exploit the mispricing of securities of companies involved in corporate transactions within the Asian (including Japan, Australia and New Zealand) region. Event driven strategies involve investing in opportunities created by significant transactional events, such as mergers and acquisitions, earnings surprises, capital management initiatives, capital structure arbitrage and index changes, among others. The Fund believes that significant corporate events can often create inefficiency in a company's share price which the Fund then seeks to exploit. The Fund aims to generate consistently positive returns which have a low correlation to the Asian stock markets. The objective to generate a net annualised return greater than 5% above the Reserve Bank of Australia's Cash Rate Target over a 3 to 5 year period with low volatility and low correlation to Asian stock markets. The Fund will usually hold 40 to 80 positions and will be well diversified across the various event strategies. In keeping with the absolute return focus the Manager will eliminate market risk where appropriate by hedging market and foreign currency risks. Since inception the Fund has averaged a net equity market exposure of ~10%. Sizing of an investment position will depend on the expected risk adjusted returns while taking account the liquidity and volatility of the stock. In addition, the maximum potential loss on any one position should be greater than 0.5% of the NAV and the position should not exceed 30% participation of stressed volume assuming a $200m NAV. Other criteria considered are ability to hedge and the availability of pair candidates as well as the average bid-ask size. For M&A strategies average long position is 3 to 5.5% and average short position 2 to 5%.
Manager Comments	The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund returned 1.67% in September, compared to MSCI ACWI Asia Pacific markets which were returned +1.13%. Since inception, the Fund has achieved an annualised return of 8.96% p.a., with a low volatility of 6.32%. The Fund has notable Sharpe and Sortino ratios of 0.90 and 1.55 respectively. The M&A sub-strategy contributed significantly to September's performance as a number of situations the Fund was involved with, had positive developments. While gross exposure in this sub-strategy fell to 39.6%, as a number of deals closed, the Fund was able to initiate new trades. Gross exposure also fell slightly to 34% in the Stubs strategy as the Fund booked in profits from spreads that reverted to normalized levels. Within other strategies, the Credit sub-strategy posted a small positive 30 basis points contribution to overall performance. For the month, the Fund averaged a gross and net exposure of 190.3% and 12.9% respectively. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund September 2016

13 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

September Fund Review is now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has an annualised return of 17.02% p.a.

The Paragon Fund

13 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Paragon Fund rose 4.30% in September, outperforming the ASX 200 Accumulation Index which returned 0.48%, by 3.82%.

13 Oct 2016 - The Paragon Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	12 October 2016
Manager	Paragon Funds Management
Fund Name	The Paragon Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	4.30%
Latest 6 Months	24.71%
Latest 12 Months	33.45%
Latest 24 Months	38.70%
Annualised Since Inception	21.85%
Inception Date	28 February 2013
FUM (millions)	AU$85.1
Fund Overview	The Paragon Fund is a concentrated long/short Australian equities product that is fundamentally driven with a focus on the industrial and resource sectors. Paragon's own research process and active portfolio management is overlaid with risk management and an overarching focus on capital preservation. 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 Paragon Fund rose 4.30% in September, outperforming the ASX 200 Accumulation Index which returned 0.48%, by 3.82%. Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 21.85 p.a. vs the Index's 6.44% p.a. The Fund has a notable Sharpe and Sortino ratios of 1.36 (Index 0.39) and 2.56 (Index 0.48) respectively. Main contributors in September were Kidman Resources, Mayne Pharma, gold holdings and a short position in Pilbara Minerals. At the end of the month, the Fund had 32 long positions and 11 short positions, with a net exposure of 89.2%. The Fund held 10.8% of the portfolio as cash. Click below to read the latest monthly report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund

12 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund rose 0.75% in September to take annualised return since inception to 16.64% p.a.

12 Oct 2016 - Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	11 October 2016
Manager	Alexander Funds Management
Fund Name	Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund
Strategy	Fixed Income
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	0.75%
Latest 6 Months	4.08%
Latest 12 Months	7.46%
Latest 24 Months	15.45%
Annualised Since Inception	16.64%
Inception Date	31 October 2009
FUM (millions)	AU$87.94
Fund Overview	The aim of the fund is to identify opportunities in the fixed income credit markets. The Fund invests in a full spectrum of fixed income products that includes but is not limited to: corporate bonds,; bank debt; credit derivatives; bank loans;commercial paper;hybrid securities; and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in derivatives for hedging purposes. The portfolio of the Fund comprises primarily Investment Grade holding of 75% of the Fund's assets. Benchmark allocations are Australasia 50% to 100%, North America 0% to 50% and Europe 0% to 50%. Currency hedging may take place depending on benefits to the Fund.
Manager Comments	Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund rose 0.75% in September. Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 16.74% p.a., (RBA Cash Rate Index 3.18% p.a), to give notable Sharpe and Sortino Ratio of 1.87 and 18.75 respectively. The Fund has delivered positive returns for over 95% of the months since inception. During the month, the Fund closed another private debt transaction and is now the senior secured lender to an Australian micro-finance company. This position will provide a solid return for the Fund but with a significant amount of security. The Fund will continue to look for similar opportunities to lend to small to medium sized domestic companies that offer an attractive return on a secured basis. For September, the majority of the portfolio was allocated in the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) at 47%, followed by Corporate Bonds/Loans at 28%. Click below to read the latest monthly report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

12 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned -0.22% in September to take annualised return since inception to 11.59% p.a.

12 Oct 2016 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	11 October 2016
Manager	Kardinia Capital, A Bennelong boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	-0.22%
Latest 6 Months	3.35%
Latest 12 Months	3.69%
Latest 24 Months	12.02%
Annualised Since Inception	11.59%
Inception Date	01 May 2006
FUM (millions)	AU$330.4
Fund Overview	The Fund consists of a concentrated long/short portfolio typically comprising 20 to 50 ASX300 listed stocks, generally with a long bias aligned to the overall market direction. On average since inception the Fund's exposure has averaged 40% net long. There is a slight bias to large cap stocks on the long side of the portfolio, although in a rising market the portfolio will tend to hold smaller caps, including resource stocks, more frequently. On the short side, the portfolio is particularly concentrated, with stock selection limited by both liquidity and the difficulty of borrowing stock in smaller cap companies. Short positions are only taken when there is a high conviction view on the specific stock. The Fund uses derivatives in a limited way, mainly selling short dated covered call options to generate additional income. These typically have less than 30 days to expiry, and are usually 5% to 10% out of the money. ASX SPI futures and index put options can be used to hedge the portfolio's overall net position. 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	Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned -0.22% in September, compared to the ASX 200 Accumulation Index, which returned 0.48%. Since inception in May 2006, the Fund has an annualised performance of 11.59% p.a, compared to the Index's 4.88% p.a. The Fund has achieved this performance with lower volatility of 7.23% than that of the Index (14.14%), to give notable Sharpe and Sortino ratio of 1.02 (Index 0.13) and 1.87 (Index 0.08) respectively. Long positions in BHP, South32 and RIO were the largest positive contributors, whilst TPG Telecom, Skycity Entertainment and S2 Resources were the largest detractors from performance. Net equity market exposure (including derivatives) increased from 45.4% to 46.7% (64.7% long and 18.1% short). Click below to read the latest Fund Report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

Pengana Global Small Companies Fund

11 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

Pengana Global Small Companies Fund rose 0.60% in September 2016, outperforming the MSCI AC World SMID Cap Index by 1.2%.

11 Oct 2016 - Pengana Global Small Companies Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	08 October 2016
Manager	Pengana Capital
Fund Name	Pengana Global Small Companies Fund
Strategy	Global Diversified
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	0.60%
Latest 6 Months	8.21%
Latest 12 Months	5.86%
Latest 24 Months
Annualised Since Inception	3.05%
Inception Date	01 April 2015
FUM (millions)	AU$4.881
Fund Overview	The Pengana Global Small Companies Fund provides exposure to a diversified portfolio of predominantly listed global small and mid-cap companies. Its investment objective is to obtain returns greater than the MSCI All Country World Index SMID Cap unhedged in AUD index over rolling 3 year periods after fees. Pengana Capital Limited ('Pengana') is the Responsible Entity of the Fund and has appointed Lizard as the investment manager for the Fund which is responsible for making investment decisions in relation to the Fund. The Fund is managed by Founder & CIO Leah Zell, and Portfolio Managers Jon Moog and David Li. The Lizard investment team have over 50 years combined investment experience in global small cap investing. Leah Zell has over 30 years of experience and is a recognized expert in international investing in the international small-cap category. The Fund's investment team uses a value-oriented investment approach to small and mid-cap global equities that seeks to identify and invest in quality businesses that create significant value but are mispriced, overlooked or out-of-favour. The investment manager believes that unique opportunities exist due to limited available research, corporate actions or unfavourable investor perception. The portfolio construction process aims to develop portfolios that incorporate the best investment ideas from the investment manager's research while allowing for liquidity constraints and perceived risk. The Fund's investment manager will not typically hedge currency exposures, however during periods of currency extremes, some currency hedging may be employed. Derivatives may be used to achieve long or short exposures, reduce risk and reduce transaction costs. Derivatives will not be used for the purposes of leverage and the Fund's net exposure will never be short.
Manager Comments	Pengana Global Small Companies Fund rose 0.60% in September 2016, outperforming the MSCI AC World SMID Cap Index, which returned -0.6%, by 1.2%. The top five holdings (in alphabetical order) were Boohoo.com Plc, Hostelworld Group Plc, Liberty Global Plc LiLAC Group Class C, Moleskine SpA, and NetScout Systems,Inc. The top positive contributors for the month were boohoo.com Plc, Moleskine SpA, Halogen Software, Inc., Fagron NV and Valmet Corp. However, Credito Real S.A. de C.V., Sarine Technologies Ltd, CarMax, Inc., Softcat Plc, and Liberty Tax, Inc. Class A detracted from the performance. At month-end, the Fund's top 10 holdings accounted for 37% of the Fund's assets, with no single name representing more than 5.5% of the Fund. Cash increased from the prior month to 10.1% of the Fund. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report

Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

10 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

The Optimal Australia Absolute Trust recorded a net return of 0.56% in September.

10 Oct 2016 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	07 October 2016
Manager	Optimal Fund Management Australia
Fund Name	Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
Strategy	Equity Long/Short
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	0.56%
Latest 6 Months	-0.05%
Latest 12 Months	5.51%
Latest 24 Months	8.36%
Annualised Since Inception	8.60%
Inception Date	15 September 2008
FUM (millions)	AU$100
Fund Overview	The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to achieve above average returns in absolute terms, through investing in listed securities in Australia and New Zealand, subject to the overarching requirement of capital preservation. Investments will predominantly be in equity securities but may include fixed interest instruments, money market instruments, derivatives and foreign exchange contracts. The Fund's bias is likely to be net long under normal market conditions, with the core strategy being to construct a portfolio of listed equity securities priced at levels that do not adequately reflect their underlying value. The Fund will seek to boost returns and limit potential market downside by selective short selling of individual stocks which are priced at levels that are viewed as materially above their underlying value. The Fund will also use certain trading strategies both within its core portfolio (through rebalancing stock weights and overall market exposure in response to price movements) and in certain other situations (typically of a shorter-duration and/or opportunistic nature) with the objective of further increasing returns.
Manager Comments	The Optimal Australia Absolute Trust recorded a net return of 0.56% in September, against the ASX 200 Accumulation Index which returned 0.48%. Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 8.60% p.a. (Index 5.37% p.a.), which has been achieved with relatively low volatility of 3.77% p.a. (Index 14.33% p.a). The Fund enjoyed strong gains in stocks such as Orica and Aurizon that have been beaten up by exposure to the commodity complex, and which offered very substantial valuation discounts and/or self-help stories. However, the Fund's holding in Hendersons and Clydesdale Bank was a substantial drag on performance during the month, but have done much better so far in October. At month-end, the Fund had a gross exposure of 94.6% and net exposure 3.8%. Click below to read the latest Fund monthly report.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

7 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund returned -1.06% in September but is up +30.13% for the latest 24-months.

7 Oct 2016 - Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors

Report Date	06 October 2016
Manager	Bennelong Long Short Equity Management, a Bennelong boutique
Fund Name	Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
Strategy	Equity Market Neutral
Latest Return Date	September 2016
Latest Return	-1.06%
Latest 6 Months	-1.75%
Latest 12 Months	2.54%
Latest 24 Months	30.13%
Annualised Since Inception	17.02%
Inception Date	01 January 2003
FUM (millions)	AU$400.9
Fund Overview	Bennelong Long Short Equity Management applies a qualitative stock selection process to construct a diversified portfolio of paired securities based on relative value. The Bennelong Long Short Equity Management strategy invests primarily in the S&P/ASX 100 and is dollar neutral at cost. 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.
Manager Comments	Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund returned -1.06% in September but is up +30.13% for the latest 24-months. The long term performance since inception remains strong with annual returns of 17.02% p.a. (Index 7.74% p.a.) with a volatility of 12.12% (Index 12.97%). The Fund has notable Sharpe and Sortino ratios of 1.02 (Index 0.32) and 1.70 (Index 0.34) respectively. The Fund's performance was hit by their holding in the telco pair of Long TPG Telecom / Short Telstra, following the release of TPG's 2016 earnings results. While the reported results were in-line with expectations, the 2017 profile guidance from the company disappointed investors, falling approximately 7% short of the market estimate. For the month, the top three spreads for the month were long Oil Search / short Santos, long Crown Resorts / short Skycity Entertainment, and long Challenger/ short ANZ. The bottom three spreads for the month were long TPG Telecom / short Telstra, long Bluescope / short Sims Metal and long James Hardie / short CSR Limited. Click below to read the Fund Manager's commentary and market outlook.
More Information	Fund Profile Manager's Report AFM Research Reports

Fund Review: QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund August 2016

4 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

Latest Fund Review is now available on QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund, investing exclusively in S&P/ASX 100 stocks.

Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund August 2016

3 Oct 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors

Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Titans Fund is now available.

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14 Oct 2016 - Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund

13 Oct 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund September 2016

13 Oct 2016 - The Paragon Fund

12 Oct 2016 - Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund

12 Oct 2016 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund

11 Oct 2016 - Pengana Global Small Companies Fund

10 Oct 2016 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

7 Oct 2016 - Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund

4 Oct 2016 - Fund Review: QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund August 2016

3 Oct 2016 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund August 2016

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