NEWS
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund May 2016
20 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review now available on Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund, which has over 9 years of positive track record.
Read more...
20 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund May 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
BENNELONG KARDINIA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review. You are also able to view the Fund's Profile.
- The Fund is long biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy investing in listed ASX companies with a nine-year track record.
- The Fund has significantly outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index since its inception in May 2006 and also has significantly lower risk KPIs. The Fund has an annualised return of 11.86% p.a. with a volatility of 7.28%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's return of 4.78% p.a. with a volatility of 14.21%.
- The Fund also has a strong focus on capital protection in negative markets. Portfolio Managers Mark Burgess and Kristiaan Rehder have significant market experience, while Bennelong Funds Management provide infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution capabilities.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
Affluence Investment Fund
20 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Affluence Investment Fund rose 1.87% in May.
Read more...
20 Jun 2016 - Affluence Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | The underlying investments performed well during the month. Both the long/short managers and smaller company managers performed had a good month. The small resources investments were the detractors for the month. At the end of May, the Affluence Fund held investments in 19 unlisted funds, which represented 55% of the total portfolio. It also held listed investments in 15 listed investment companies and other securities, representing 18% of the portfolio. The cash balance was increased from the prior month to 27%, largely due to inflows from new investors. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's report. |
| More Information |
Pengana Global Small Companies Fund
17 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Global Small Companies Fund generated a positive return of 5.11% in May 2016, compared to a 5.58% return for the MSCI AC World SMID Cap Index.
Read more...
17 Jun 2016 - Pengana Global Small Companies Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | 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 | Currency positively impacted the Fund by 2.9% and the benchmark by 3.8%. However, excluding currency fluctuations, the Fund outperformed the benchmark. The largest contributors for the month were Moleskine and Boohoo. Ubiquiti was also an important contributor. The Fund experienced no meaningful losses from any stocks this month. The Fund added three new positions this month: CarMax, Cogeco Inc, and Fagron. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's report. |
| More Information |
APN Asian REIT Fund
17 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund returned +0.90% for May, outperforming the Bloomberg Asia REIT Index which returned 0.64%, by 0.26%.
Read more...
17 Jun 2016 - APN Asian REIT Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | The portfolio was allocated in multiple Asian countries, with the majority in Japan (38.5%) and Singapore (30.9%). Over 65% of the Fund was invested in the Retail REITs (40.3%) and the Office REITs (25%) sectors. The top 5 Asian REIT holdings were in Ascendas Real Estate Inv Trust, Link REIT, Gip J-REIT, Japan Retail Fund Investment and Prosperity REIT. Click below to read the latest Fund's performance report. |
| More Information |
Totus Alpha Fund
16 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund rose 9.36% for the month of May, to take the trailing 12-months return to 34.36%.
Read more...
16 Jun 2016 - Totus Alpha Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| 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 | At month-end, the fund had a net exposure of 15.8% and a gross exposure of 253.4%. The fund held 126 positions (57 long and 69 short) that were diversified across multiple investment themes. Top contributors in May were long positions in SmartGroup, McMillian Shakespeare and CYBG. Biggest detractors were short positions in Macquarie, Metcash and OxForex. Click below to read the latest Fund's Monthly Report. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund May 2016
16 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
May Fund Review now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has annualised returns of 18% p.a.
Read more...
16 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund May 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (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 large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over fourteen-year track record and annualised returns of 18.0%.
- The consistent returns across the investment history indicates 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 1.09 (Index 0.31) and 1.85 (Index 0.33) respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
15 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund returned -0.56% for the month of May 2016, compared to Asia Pacific markets falling -1.6%.
Read more...
15 Jun 2016 - Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | 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 Fund navigated the month with an average gross and net exposure of 215% and 9.7% respectively. Gross exposure was increased from the previous month on the back of increased M&A deal activity and capital employed towards more mature M&A transactions. The Stubs and Capital Structure strategies contributed positively to the Fund's performance. Biggest negative contributor came from the M&A strategy. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust May 2016
15 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review on Optimal Australian Absolute Trust Fund.
Read more...
15 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust May 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
OPTIMAL AUSTRALIA ABSOLUTE TRUST
AFM have released the most recently updated Fund Review on the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Optimal Australia is a specialist Australian equity investment manager and the Fund has a long/short equity strategy typically with a low but variable net market exposure comprising 40 to 65 stocks broadly selected from within the ASX200.
- The investment team comprising George Colman, Peter Whiting supported by Stephen Nicholls and Justin Hay have over 100 years combined experience in equity markets.
- In May, the Fund returned 2.29%. The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.53 (Index 0.20), Sortino ratio of 3.53 (Index 0.17), both of which are well above the ASX 200 Accumulation Index and has recorded 80% positive months.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund
14 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund rose 0.64% for the month of May.
Read more...
14 Jun 2016 - Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
| Report Date | |
| Manager | |
| Fund Name | |
| Strategy | |
| Latest Return Date | |
| Latest Return | |
| Latest 6 Months | |
| Latest 12 Months | |
| Latest 24 Months | |
| Annualised Since Inception | |
| Inception Date | |
| FUM (millions) | |
| Fund Overview | 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 | The Fund has a healthy allocation of 54% to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), which the investment team believes to have great relative value. The Fund continues to be conservatively positioned from a credit duration perspective. At the end of May, the duration was at 1.3 years. The Fund is also looking to increase the overall macro hedges in the portfolio as risk assets rise. At month-end, the portfolio had 4% invested in cash. Click below to read the latest monthly report. |
| More Information |
Fund Review: Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund May 2016
14 Jun 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
May Fund Review is now available on Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund, a long-only macroeconomic investment fund.
Read more...
14 Jun 2016 - Fund Review: Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund May 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Jamieson Coote Bonds Active Fund
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
- Jamieson Coote Bonds is a Melbourne-based Boutique Manager launched in December 2014.
- The Founders, Charles Jamieson and Angus Coote bring over 30 years of international experience dealing with central banks, hedge funds and real money managers.
- The Jamieson Coote Active Bond Fund is a long-only macroeconomic investment fund, investing in Australian Dollar denominated bonds backed by AAA and AA+ rated Government, Semi (State) Government and Supranational agencies.
- The Fund Objective is to out-perform the Bloomberg Australian Government Bond Index through active management in a sound risk-managed framework and usually holds around 20 bond securities of varying maturities.
AFM Fund Review - May 2016 (pdf format)
