NEWS
Pengana Asia Special Events (Onshore) Fund
18 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Asia Special Events (Onshore) Fund returned 1.03% during August 2013 with gross and net exposure averaging 158% and 12% respectively.
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18 Sep 2013 - Pengana Asia Special Events (Onshore) 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 | Short index futures protected the Fund during the month, while non-directional trades such as M&A and stubs trades also contributed positively to performance. Malaysian and Japanese trades proved particularly profitable during the month. With market attention mostly macro related, the Asian event landscape was relatively calm with the announced M&A count remaining healthy for the month. Private equity players have become more active recently with 2 deals in August alone highlighting this trend. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
18 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for the Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund for August 2013. The Fund is characterised by steady returns and very low risk. The since inception (March 2005) return is 8.23% pa and the annualised standard deviation 2.80%.
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18 Sep 2013 - Fund Review: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
AURORA FORTITUDE ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund;
The Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (AFARF) has a 8 year track record investing in ASX listed equities. A Market Neutral overlay is used across a multi strategy approach which allows for flexible asset allocation to maximise returns and minimise risk under a variety of market conditions and cycles.
Strong use of low risk "long" derivatives and option overlays has provided positive returns with low volatility during periods of market dislocation. Over 87% of monthly performances have been positive, with no losing months in 2008 and a largest drawdown of -2.09%.
ASX listed Aurora Funds Limited was established on the merger of three existing fund management businesses, managing approx. $480m on behalf of more than 2,500 retail and wholesale investors.CIO John Corr has over 20 years financial market experience with a strong focus on risk.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
17 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for the Optimal Australia Absolute Trust for August 2013, which is characterised by very low risk. The Fund's since inception (September 2008) return is 10.65% pa and the annualised standard deviation 3.65%.
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17 Sep 2013 - Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust (pdf format)
OPTIMAL AUSTRALIA ABSOLUTE FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Optimal Australia Absolute Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
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 Fund has recorded out-performance of the market since inception in September 2008 with approximately 84% of monthly performances having positive returns and the largest drawdown -1.38%
The investment team comprising George Colman, Peter Whiting and Stephen Nicholls have close to 90 years combined experience in equity markets.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust (pdf format)
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
16 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for BKARF, showing KPI's for August 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.
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16 Sep 2013 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund (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 seven year track record. Consistent top decile long short equity sector performance with a since inception (May 2006) return of 14.11% pa (ASX Accumulation Index 4.18% pa) and a standard deviation of 7.89% pa (Index 14.86%) indicate the Fund's ability to generate strong risk-adjusted returns. 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.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
Insync Global Titans Fund
16 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund recorded -1.95% during August with the low risk as shown by the maximum drawdown of -2.04% over the last 12 months.
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16 Sep 2013 - Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Fund's low risk is further indicated by it's downside deviation of 3.16% (Index 5.93%) and a down capture ratio of -0.80, also over the last 12 months. The Fund's unit price decreased by 1.9% in August. Positive contributions coming notably from our holdings in British Sky Broadcasting, Hugo Boss and GlaxoSmithKline were more than offset by declines in Sanofi, Philip Morris and Walt Disney. Currency movements had less impact on the portfolio in August than they did in the previous three months. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
13 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund, showing KPI's for August 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.
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13 Sep 2013 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund (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 cap stocks from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with a ten year track record and annualised net returns of over 20%. Since inception in January 2002 the Fund has had positive annual returns each year, including an 11.95% return in 2008 and 20.6% in 2011, both of which were negative years for the ASX200. 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.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund (pdf format)
Pengana Australian Equities Fund
13 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Australian Equities Fund returned 2.27% for August with a cash holding of 26% at month-end.
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13 Sep 2013 - Pengana Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Fund's exposure to non-Australian dollar earnings streams (inclusive of companies with global earnings profiles such as Resmed and Fox Group, NZ based companies and US dollar exposure) stood at 21%. Although the Manager has been biased towards a weakening A$ for some time, they note that the speed of its decline has been surprising. On the one hand, a lower Australian Dollar represents lower global purchasing power for us as consumers. However, the Manager expects several important domestic industries to benefit materially from the currency shift. These include the tourism, education, agricultural and even, dare we say it, the mining industry. Many companies have been forced to streamline their operations to cope with the high A$. The recent falls could translate into a period of very high levels of profitability for some. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
12 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned 0.18% for August bringing the Fund's percentage of positive months to 87% since March 2005.
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12 Sep 2013 - 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 | Sentiment towards China appears to have turned with the materials index posting a solid 3.7% gain for the month. US Macro data continued to impress, however September does bring a large number of Macro risks to the table including the Tapering debate; Fed Chairman continuity; US Debt Ceiling; German Elections and ongoing tensions in Syria. The Convergence book (+0.16%) posted the strongest returns of the strategies for the month. The News Corporation demerger continues to present attractive trading opportunities. The Yield portfolio continues to deliver consistent returns (+0.12%) in high quality short-dated names. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
11 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund returned -1.57% over August with net leverage of 88%.
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11 Sep 2013 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Fund's lower risk is evidenced by a downside deviation of 1.87% (ASX 200 Accum 5.70%). The Sortino ratio of 14.88% as compared to 3.37% (Index) and the Sharpe ratio of 3.10 compared to 1.87 (Index) demonstrate the Fund's strong risk-adjusted returns. In a weak month, the Fund's top contributors were a few individual stocks in a variety of countries along with some hedges. Offsetting this were givebacks on two of July's main alpha sources: currency and interest rate hedges and the Fund overweight to the US bank sector. The Fund ended the month underweight the US market, and to a lesser degree also underweight Europe and Emerging Markets. It remained overweight Japan, but overall a little less than fully invested. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
10 Sep 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust returned 0.14% for August with a net risk exposure of 9.2% and gross risk exposure of 61.2%.
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10 Sep 2013 - 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 is characterised by low risk with a Sortino Ratio of 5.39 (ASX Accumulation Index 0.06) and high reward-to-risk with a Sharpe Ratio of 1.81 (Index 0.12). All data is since the Fund inception in September 2008. Major contributors to the Fund's return in August were on the Long side (+1.04% attribution) industrials, media, resources, energy and property and on the negative side, food and transport. On the short side (-0.75%) positives were healthcare and on the negative side, energy, healthcare, staples and index futures. In Australia, that second derivative issue has been very relevant, with significant pro-cyclical portfolio positioning through the recent earnings season. The Manager notes that they have a lot of sympathy with a beta tilt, so ridiculous have many defensive yield valuations become. They are still surprised by the extent to which investors have been prepared to 'look across the valley', such that many earnings reports that were very weak in absolute terms, with cautious or no guidance prompting earnings downgrades, have only resulted in stock price strength. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
