NEWS
Pengana PanAgora Absolute Return Global Equities Fund
1 Apr 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana PanAgora Absolute Return Global Equities Fund returned -1.62% for the month of February. The Fund has low systematic risk (beta) to the ASX200 and the MSCI World Indices of 0.10.
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1 Apr 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 | This negative performance was all attributed to the longer term portfolio which was down 1.68%. Volatility across asset classes remained elevated and the stocks held by fundamental fund managers performed the worst. As a result quality stocks were sold and, as some investors had to cover their shorts to deleverage their positions, lower quality stocks performed relatively better. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund February 2016
31 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund is now available.
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31 Mar 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund February 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Twenty20 - AFM Fund Review February 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 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.
Bennelong Twenty20 - AFM Fund Review February 2016 (pdf format)
Newgate Real Estate and Infrastructure Fund
30 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Newgate Real Estate and Infrastructure Fund delivered a negative 0.70% for the month of February, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index, which fell -1.76%, by 1.06%.
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30 Mar 2016 - Newgate Real Estate and Infrastructure Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's research use detailed analysis of the underlying assets integrated with financial analysis to determine a sustainable yield and fundamental DCF valuation for the security. Also the Fund believes in having a strong risk control framework. The Fund will also use trading strategies via rebalancing of core portfolio positions as well as taking advantage of shorter duration inefficiencies in markets caused by an imbalance in demand and supply for global REIT and Infrastructure securities. The Fund focuses on generating absolute returns after fees of 12 to 15% pa over the medium to long term. The long-short nature of the Fund combined with Newgate's rigorous investment process ensures returns generated by the Fund are largely independent of rising or falling markets. Newgate is focused on providing investment opportunities primarily within core, value-add, opportunistic and development sectors of direct property and across listed and unlisted real estate and infrastructure securities. The Fund's investment team consists of Tim Hannon, Campbell McComb, Darren Brusnahan, Nishant Narayanaswamy and Nicole Merrillees. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's performance was a result of a net short position that began building late in the month in the face of a real estate and infrastructure sector that rallied approximately 2.0% in the same period. Since then, the Fund has continued to gradually build its net short position to exploit a situation of stretched sectoral valuations and degrading fundamentals. Click Manager's Report to read more. |
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Insync Global Titans Fund
30 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Titans Fund returned -1.80%, compared to the MSCI All Country World ex-Australia Net Total Return Index in $A, which returned -1.6%.
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30 Mar 2016 - Insync Global Titans 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 of typically 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. At times, Insync may consider holding higher levels of cash if valuations are full and it is difficult to find attractive investment opportunities. When Insync believes markets to be overvalued, it may hold part of its resources in cash, or use derivatives as a way of reducing its equity exposure. Insync may use options, futures and other derivatives to reduce risk or gain exposure to underlying physical investments. The Fund may purchase put options on market indices or specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. |
| Manager Comments | The performance was driven by positive contributions from the holdings in Paypal, McGraw-Hill, Gilead Sciences, Comcast and Reckitt Benckiser. The main negative contributors were Sanofi, Nestle, McDonald's, Time Warner and Microsoft. The Fund continues to have no foreign currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager Report. |
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Fund Review Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund February 2016
29 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review now available on Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund, which has over 6 years of track record and annualised return of 9.74% p.a.
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29 Mar 2016 - Fund Review Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund February 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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 9.74% p.a., compared to the AFM's Asia Pacific Index of 4.28%. The Fund has achieved this with lower volatility of 6.15% (Index 12.01%).
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
29 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund rose 1.08% for the month of February 2016.
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29 Mar 2016 - Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | JCBAF seeks to establish a mid to long term core portfolio using both domestic and global macroeconomic analysis. This is overlaid with a number of valuation indicators and international market intelligence from a global network of market moving investors, including central bankers and hedge funds, to construct an optimal indexed portfolio allocation at any given time. The Fund recognises short term oscillations driven by technical factors and supply dynamics create opportunities within short term pricing cycles, which can generate significant alpha when managed within a risk adjusted framework. The Fund aims to outperform its index using duration and curve management at appropriate times in the pricing cycle whilst retaining a core long. The JCB Active Fund gives direct access to the management team whilst providing portfolio balance with increased capital stability and a fixed income streams with both income and principle repayment secured by the Australian or State Governments. |
| Manager Comments | Click below to read the Fund Manager's market outlook. |
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QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund
29 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund returned -8.09% versus the S&P/ASX-100's fall of -2.75%.
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29 Mar 2016 - QATO Capital Market Neutral Long/Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund targets a net market exposure of 0% to hedge broader market risks through 30 S&P/ASX-100 positions (15 long and 15 short equally weighted positions). The turnover is generally averaged around 30% of the total portfolio each month. The process is entirely systematic - stock selection and risk management are all employed in a rules based approach. The Market Neutral Long/Short Fund employs no financial leverage, no derivatives and no financial products to imitate leverage. The Investment Manager's three principal investment goals for the Fund are: 1. Market neutral long/short portfolio management with little correlation to equity markets; 2. Over a 3-5 year period, seeking to target annualised volatility of 15% per annum and annualised returns of 15-30% per annum above the Benchmark; Sharpe Ratio 1.0-2.0 and a negative beta to ASX listed equities; and 3. To provide investors with a co-investment opportunity alongside the founding members' investments in the Investment Manager's strategy. |
| Manager Comments | Ten of the Fund's long positions outperformed the S&P/ASX-100's fall in February, with four positions delivering positive returns. The long portfolio outperformed the market by +1.90% this month, although was unable to provide any significant buffer to the Fund, which tends to occur during risk-on rallies. Six of the short positions outperformed the S&P/ASX-100's fall in February. The performance of the short book was negatively impacted by a relatively small number of outliers moving against the Fund. The average net monthly exposure of the portfolio was -0.94%. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Totus Alpha Fund February 2016
24 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review with key statistics on Totus Alpha Fund, which has an annualised return of 27.32% p.a.
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24 Mar 2016 - Fund Review: Totus Alpha Fund February 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund AFM Fund Review February 2016 (pdf format)
TOTUS ALPHA FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Totus Alpha Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Totus Capital is a Sydney based long short fund manager established in 2012 by Ben McGarry which aims to place equal emphasis on performance and capital preservation. The Fund invests mainly in Australia, but also in other developed economies, with a primary exposure to equity markets.
- The Totus Alpha Fund's investment strategy is to identify structural themes, and then seek to drive performance by investing in securities that have concentrated exposure to those themes. Single stock short positions are used to generate alpha, frequently in under researched parts of the market such as the small and mid-cap space. Index derivatives are used to hedge the portfolio's market risk.
- McGarry qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PWC in 1999 and has 15 years market experience, commencing his career covering European building materials and construction sectors at Morgan Stanley in London. Previous experience included analytical roles at Ausbil, a Sydney based $10bn+ long-only manager, and sell side emerging companies experience at UBS. McGarry's emerging company research with UBS included exposure to a range of sectors including energy, materials, industrials, tech, financials, retail and telecommunications.
- The Fund has delivered an annalised return of 27.32% since inception in March 2012 as compared to 7.77% for the ASX 200 Accumulation Index. The standard deviation has been higher than the Index at 15.34% as compared to 12.32% and the Sharpe ratio is 1.49.
Totus Alpha Fund AFM Fund Review February 2016 (pdf format)
Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
24 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund returned -2.67% against the ASX 200 Accumulation Index which returned -1.76%.
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24 Mar 2016 - 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 | For February, the Fund's performance struggled against the strength of the Resource sector, a sector in which the Fund has an underweight stance. Also the Fund had an overweight position in IPH, an intellectual property professional services firm, which performed poorly. IPH was the largest detractor for the month. The Fund benefited from its stock picking in the Healthcare sector and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Click below to read the latest Fund Report. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: APN Asian REIT Fund February 2016
23 Mar 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
February Fund Review is now available on APN Asian REIT Fund, a property securities fund, investing primarily in the Asian REITS.
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23 Mar 2016 - Fund Review: APN Asian REIT Fund February 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund AFM Fund Review February 2016 (pdf format)
APN Asian REIT Fund
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the APN Asian REIT Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- APN is an ASX-listed fund manager specialising in property investment, with an investment team of six. Established in 1996, APN now has FUM of $A2.1bn including four REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) funds.
- The APN Asian REIT Fund (Fund) is a property securities fund that invests in a quality portfolio of Asian REITs, listed on the securities exchanges of the Asian Region, with the ability to hold some cash and fixed interest investments.
- 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 can include 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 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.
- APN's Asian REIT Fund invests in a portfolio of 25-40 listed Asian REITs with a core philosophy of investing in properties with a sustainable rental income streams.
- The Fund has delivered an annalised return of 17.42% p.a., since inception in July 2011 with standard deviation of 9.52% p.a. The Sharpe and Sortino ratios are 1.44 and 2.70 respectively.
APN Asian REIT Fund AFM Fund Review February 2016 (pdf format)
