NEWS
Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund
25 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund recorded 1.32% during January, a weak month for domestic equity (-3.03% ASX 200 Acc) and 52.73% during the previous twelve months.
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25 Feb 2014 - Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund focuses on fundamental long and short investments. The Fund may utilise a multi-strategy approach if short term opportunities to increase returns, hedge the portfolio, protect capital or minimise volatility are found. The Fund is a high conviction fund and the combined portfolio will typically have 25-45 positions, investing primarily in stocks in the ASX200. The Fund may be net long, short or neutral depending on the strategies employed at the time. The Fund may hold cash so that it is in a position to take advantage of market volatility and compelling investment opportunities as and when they arise. The Fund may be geared up to 200% gross long or short and up to 150% net long or short. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino's ratio are 3.14 and 9.09 respectively with the comparative Index ratios 1.22 and 2.08. In terms of the portfolio Average gross capital employed by the Fund was 108.6% long and 13.2% short. Average net exposure over the month was +95.4%. At the end of the month the Fund had 29 long positions and 3 short positions. The Fund's biggest exposures at month end were spread across the consumer discretionary, telecommunications and financials sectors. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Pengana Australian Equities Fund
24 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Australian Equities Fund recorded -2.00% during January and 10.45% for the previous 12 month.
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24 Feb 2014 - Pengana Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Fund's annualised return since inception in July 2008 is 12.65% with the Index return 4.47%, again with a much lower volatility of 10.19% as compared to 15.06%. The Sharpe and Sortino ratios also show strong reward-to-risk ratios at 0.84 (0.11) and 1.21 (0.04) respectively (index numbers are shown in brackets). The largest positive contributors to the month's performance were DUET Group and Summerset NZ while the largest detractors were Mermaid Marine, ANZ Bank, Fox Group, Seven West Media and Resmed. In terms of the portfolio the Manager comments as at 31st January 2014, cash (including notes and preference shares) represented 21% of the Fund. The top five holdings by value were: DUET Group, Telstra, ANZ Bank, Resmed and NAB and the Fund's exposure to non-Australian dollar earnings streams (inclusive of companies with global earnings profiles such as Resmed, Fox Group, CSL, NZ based companies and US dollar exposure) stood at 23%. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
21 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong's Kardinia Long/Short equity fund returned -2.12% in January 2014, taking returns for the year to 9.91%, with annualised returns since inception of 13.62%.
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21 Feb 2014 - Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Fund Review: 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 an eight year track record.
Bennelong's Kardinia Long/Short equity fund returned -2.12% in December 2013, taking returns for the year to 9.91%, broadly in line with annualised returns since inception of 13.72%. By month end the Fund's net exposure to 38.5%, based on 64.3% long, and 25.8% short.
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
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
The Paragon Fund
20 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Paragon Fund returned -1.1% for January, while the ASX 200 Acc Index fell 3.03%, and 14.10% over the previous six months.
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20 Feb 2014 - The Paragon Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Paragon accepts that markets are not always efficient in pricing information into securities and that no one investment style works in every stage of the investment cycle. Subsequently Paragon adopts a top down thematic led approach to identify companies exhibiting sustainable or improving returns on capital driven by volume growth, pricing power and competitive advantages. Paragon utilises both quantitative analysis to provide probability weighted high/low/base case valuations and qualitative analysis in assessing management, the business model and likely direction of returns. Paragon will allocate assets to each investment opportunity based on a risk/reward profile. Positions have defined investment parameters and risk limits, which are then monitored on an ongoing basis. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund has recorded a Sharpe ratio of 2.00 since inception and strong up and down capture ratios of 0.70 and -0.18 respectively. The Manager notes that key drivers of the Paragon Fund performance for January included a combination of: Strong returns from our technology investments including core holding Xero; Reducing the net equity exposure from 80% at the beginning of the month to 50% by month end. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Pengana Australian Equities Market Neutral Fund
19 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Australian Equities Market Neutral Fund returned -2.5% during January, a weak month for local equities which fell -3.03%, and 12.52% for the previous 12 months.
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19 Feb 2014 - Pengana Australian Equities Market Neutral Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The manager's investment approach is premised on the belief that fundamental factors (such as earnings, cash flow and profit growth) affect stock prices, but that the adoption of quantitative techniques (i.e. computer based models) provides an advantage in assimilating and analysing this information, and building an efficient portfolio. The Fund's portfolio is constructed to be 'Market Neutral' i.e. it aims to have little or no overall exposure to movements in the equity market. The aim of low exposure to market movements is to enhance the consistency of the portfolio's performance and to provide diversification from other market oriented investments. |
| Manager Comments | Since inception the Fund has delivered 8.95% as compared to 4.74% for the ASX 200 Acc Index with a volatility of 7.99% as compared to 15.06% for the Index. The manager comments that the Momentum factor dominated performance over January with Revisions, Value and Quality factors under-performing. The market made a notable shift away from the Quality factor, in particular the stability of earnings. Overall the Fund's fundamental factors failed to gain traction in a market environment where the continued push for increased risk appetite was against rapidly falling market volumes and volatility. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Monash Absolute Investment Fund
17 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Monash Absolute Investment Fund returned 0.80% for January, a strong performance against the Index (-3.03%) and 26.7% for the latest 12 months.
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17 Feb 2014 - Monash Absolute Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund seeks to identify opportunities in the share market to make positive returns (long and short) irrespective of market conditions. It is style agnostic, as compelling investment opportunities exist across all investment styles from time to time. The Fund places a high priority on capital preservation, and has an absolute return focus in accepting market risk. |
| Manager Comments | During the month, the Fund closed out 5 event trades, entered 4, and the net exposure of the portfolio fell marginally to 81% net and 93% gross. The portfolio was well served by its focus on investing only in compelling opportunities, with stocks rallying by a small amount despite the weak market. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Insync Global Titans Fund
14 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund returned -0.86% during January and 23.33% over the last year with a Sharpe ratio of 2.47.
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14 Feb 2014 - Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The main positive contributions for the month came from our holdings in Comcast, BSkyB and TE Connectivity. The main negative contributors were BAT, Coach and Sanofi. The Fund, currently having no foreign exchange hedging in place, benefitted from a slight depreciation of the Australian dollar in January. The Fund has no direct emerging market exposure. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
13 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund returned 0.32% during January and 8.12% for the previous 12 months with a very low volatility of 1.39% (S&P ASX 200 Accum 11.54%).
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13 Feb 2014 - 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 Options at -0.05%. For the best two performing strategies the manager comments that 'Long/Short (+0.8%) performed well despite mostly comprising of long positions in the small to mid cap space.' and for the Acquisition strategy 'January proved to be a very quiet time for Mergers and Acquisitions (+0.6%) except for Dexus Property declaring its bid for Commonwealth Property Office Fund unconditional. We expect this year will provide a raft of new deals across the market capitalisation spectrum as companies seek to create value, and extract synergies via mergers and takeovers.' |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
12 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned -2.12% during January and 9.91% over the previous twelve months with a volatility of 4.01%.
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12 Feb 2014 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund consists of a concentrated long/short portfolio typically comprising 30 to 40 ASX300 listed stocks, generally with a long bias aligned to the overall market direction. There is a slight bias to large cap stocks in 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. |
| Manager Comments | The manager comments that 'long positions in Vocation and short positions in Webjet and Share Price Index futures contracts were the largest positive contributors to performance, whilst Twenty-First Century Fox, Super Retail and Seek were the largest detractors. Net equity market exposure was progressively decreased during the month to 38.5% (64.3% long and 25.8% short).' |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
11 Feb 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust returned 0.57% during January, a weak month for domestic equities, and 1.60% for the last twelve months with a volatility of 1.83%. Since inception in September 2008 the annualised return is 10.34%.
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11 Feb 2014 - 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 was 45.0% long and 30.4% short for net exposure of 14.6% as at month-end. The manager comments that they 'still think that 2014 looms as less about a one-way bet on equities and the impact of financial repression on risk assets, and much more about stock selection and risk management. After the large gains in equity markets last year, it may just be that investment allocations are much more 'all-in' than commonly thought. Investors seem to struggle to defend their more over-owned and popular market leaders even at these lower price levels, and an air of caution may pervade for a while longer through what may well be a challenging earnings season through February.' |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
