NEWS
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust February 2015
27 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review shows Optimal Australian Absolute Trust Fund had low annual volatility of 3.67% compared to the ASX200 Accumulation Index's 14.59%.
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27 Mar 2015 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust February 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
OPTIMAL AUSTRALIA ABSOLUTE TRUST
AFM have released the most recently updated Fund Review on the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust.
CPD Points are now available for all AFM Fund Reviews. Read the review and answer 5 questions to earn half a point toward your continuing professional development.
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.
- The Fund's approach to risk is shown by the Sharpe ratio of 1.33, Sortino ratio of 2.97, both of which are well above the ASX 200 Accumulation Index and has recorded 81% positive months.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sean Webster
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust February 2015Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
26 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund rose 0.75% in February to bring annual performance since inception 7.33%.
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26 Mar 2015 - Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund aims to produce positive returns irrespective of the direction of the share market. For each investment the manager considers the risk, the timeline of that risk occurring and then the potential return. Low transaction costs and liquidity are other important factors in the success and implementation of the strategies. |
| Manager Comments | All portfolio strategies were positive with the exception of Long/Short at -0.14%. The Option Strategy (0.76%) was the most significant contributor for the month. Woolworths Limited (WOW.ASX) was the stand out due to concerns regarding profit announcement. Woodside Petroleum was a solid put option. The Fund Manager anticipate further large moves within the resources sector. The Fund sees potential for offshore corporations to buy Australian companies, given the significant fall in Australian dollar and subsequently increased opportunities within the Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy. The other strategies such as Convergence Trading (0.02%) and Yield Strategy (0.01%) were flat for the month. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund February 2015
26 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
February Fund Review now available for Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund, which has over eight years of positive track record.
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26 Mar 2015 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund February 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
BENNELONG KARDINIA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review. You are also able to view the Fund's Profile.
CPD Points are now available for all AFM Fund Reviews. Read the review and answer 5 questions to earn half a point toward your continuing professional development.
- The Fund is long biased, research driven, active equity long/short strategy investing in listed ASX companies with an eight year track record.
- The Fund has significantly outperformed the ASX200 Accumulation Index since its inception in April 2006 and also has significantly lower risk KPI's. The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned 1.90% in February and has volatility of 7.38% pa, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation's 14.30%.
- 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 the Bennelong Group provide infrastructure, operational, compliance and distribution capabilities.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sean Webster
Research Manager
Avenir Value Fund
25 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Avenir Value Fund rose 7.8% in February to bring Fund's Annual Return per annum, since inception to 17.00%
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25 Mar 2015 - Avenir Value Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund will invest in securities where Avenir believes the company is simply mis-priced and deeply undervalued and offers significant potential for revaluation. The Fund will also invest in companies that are subject to specific corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, recapitalisations, spin-offs, demergers, management change, distressed situations, and other sharply delineated corporate events. The Fund will also selectively invest in short positions in companies where Avenir believes the company is significantly overvalued or where the company's business model is broken or structurally challenged. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios are 1.17 and 2.04 respectively since inception in August 2011. Also notable are the Up and Down capture ratios at 0.42 and -0.24 respectively. At month-end the Fund's geographical disposition was 45% US, 14% Asia, 11% Western Europe with 1% Australia, 15% other and 15% cash. The top 10 holdings were 58% of NAV. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund February 2015
25 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Read the latest Fund Review for Morphic Global Opportunities Fund, which rose 3.08% in February & get CPD points.
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25 Mar 2015 - Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund February 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
MORPHIC GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund.
CPD Points are now available for all AFM Fund Reviews. Read the review and answer 5 questions to earn half a point toward your continuing professional development.
Key points include:
- The Fund is a global equity long/short manager with a long bias and a macro-economic overlay. The mandate allows the Fund to short sell, use derivatives and invest in assets such as commodities & currencies.
- Morphic's philosophy is that only funds with flexible investment and hedging strategies will be able to deliver acceptable, steady, real, absolute returns over the investment cycle.
- The Fund is an early stage, boutique, Sydney-based fund established in 2012 with experienced CIO's, and an investment team of 6 including a risk manager.
- The Board has a majority of independent members with significant risk and investment experience.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sean Webster
Research Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
24 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund returned 0.70% in February, bringing the annualised return since inception to 11.01%.
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24 Mar 2015 - Pengana Absolute Return Asia Pacific Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund seeks to profit from trading securities which are primarily subject to corporate events or from trading-related securities which the Investment Manager believes are mispriced by the market. The Fund invests in securities that are listed on Asian stock markets and other markets where related securities may be listed and in securities which are listed on markets outside of Asia where more than 70% (by assets or earnings) of the underlying business originates from an Asian country. The Fund aims to generate consistently positive returns which have a low correlation to the Asian stock markets. The objective is to generate 10-20% pa with a standard deviation of 6-10% |
| Manager Comments | In comparison the HFR Event Driven Index which closed +2.7%. Fund gross exposure averaged 243% reflecting the Fund's increased optimism over event-driven opportunities across Asia, while net averaged 16%. Outbound M&A by Japanese companies is the trending theme in Asia event space and the Fund continues to expect Japanese companies displaying appetite for acquisitions which are ROE accretive due to cheap financing. Over 48% of the Fund's monthly gross exposure by strategy was in M&A followed by Capital management at 21.3%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
23 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund performance in February was flat (0.05%) following a 3-month gain of 8.85%.
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23 Mar 2015 - Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's February performance was due sound pair positioning, with strong positive contributions from long QBE Insurance / short Suncorp Group, long Ramsay Healthcare / short Primary Healthcare and a long position in Whitehaven Coal. However offsetting these gains was the Fund's long Brambles/short Toll Holdings position, which detracted -2.1% of return. The Fund long exposure was 51.8% and short exposure 48.2%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Cor Capital Fund
20 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Cor Capital Fund returned 0.56% during February, above the Index return of 0.19%, with an annual return since inception of 6.36% (Index 2.71%).
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20 Mar 2015 - Cor Capital Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Cor Capital Fund is a Multi- Asset Fund which combines a pre-determined strategic asset allocation with active but systemised rebalancing to generate returns and manage volatility whilst maintaining transparency and liquidity. The Fund strategy is not reliant on accurate market predictions, forecasts or timing for success. Returns are generated in a number of ways; 1) by maintaining sufficiently large positions in a diverse group of asset classes, 2) via the 'volatility harvesting' consequences of active rebalancing, and 3) from the offsetting behaviour of certain asset classes under specific conditions. The combined portfolio is expected to exhibit relatively low volatility and low turnover. In the interests of avoiding complexity, maintaining liquidity, and minimising reliance on third parties, the Fund strategy does not employ gearing, derivatives or short-selling. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's rebalancing away from gold and into equities at the end of January proved timely with the precious metal subsequently falling in price by 5 percent and equities surging nearly 7 percent. The Manager continued to capitalise on this increased volatility in February when asset class limits were again breached but in the opposite direction to January. The Fund's equities position was trimmed by 6% at the end of February and the proceeds were largely moved back to gold. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
19 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund recorded a return of 3.08% in February, bringing the Fund's performance over the prior twelve months to 25.66%.
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19 Mar 2015 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The strong market in February came despite a small recovery in the Australian dollar, with global markets up 5.6% in US dollar terms. On a regional basis, Japan did best, with Europe and US in line with world markets, and emerging markets were weak. Gains came steadily over the period despite high anxiety mid-month about a Greek exit from the Eurozone. Stock selection rather than asset allocation accounted for most of the Fund's underperformance, with hedging costs associated with preparing to protect the Fund from the adverse effects of a failure in the Greek negotiations for an extension of its bailout adding only marginally The Fund closed the month fully invested, with the main features being overweight positions in China and India against the rest of the emerging market complex, and an overweight position in Japan and Europe against the US. Greece related hedges have been removed post month end. The Fund slightly cut its underweight position in the Australian dollar during the month. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
18 Mar 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust reported a flat net return in February (-0.08%), bringing annualised returns since inception to 8.65% p.a. with a volatility of 3.67% p.a.
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18 Mar 2015 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Fund had a gross exposure of 82.30% and net exposure of -15.80%. The Fund's long positions did a very solid job, with portfolio attribution of 2.94% on average long exposure of 33% of Fund NAV (a return of over 9% if grossed-up to 100% long exposure), but this good work was offset by losses on our shorts and derivative hedge positions. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
