NEWS
Pengana Australian Equities Market Neutral Fund
29 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Pengana Australian Equities Market Neutral Fund has returned 9.4% pa since inception (Sept 2008) with an annualised standard deviation of 7.97%. The Fund recorded -0.2% in September.
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29 Oct 2013 - 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 | The Fund's lower risk is indicated by a downside deviation of 4.96% and largest draw-down of 13.47% as compared to 11.57% and 33.11% for the Index respectively. Earnings Revisions provided a small positive return over the quarter as it continued on a mostly sideways trend. This is a surprising result given this period includes reporting season where Earnings Revisions typically works very well. The Manager notes that they tend to see Earnings Revisions working well alongside the Quality factor, and can now see downgrade pressure starting to build across the poorer quality, small cap cyclical stocks. On the other side the Manager is seeing upgrade pressure increasing across good quality, defensive mid cap stocks. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Totus Alpha Fund
28 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Totus Alpha Fund returned 6.48% during September bringing the annual performance to 32.2% (ASX 200 Acc 24.2%).
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28 Oct 2013 - Totus Alpha Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| 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 as determined by Totus Capital. 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 | The Fund had a significant positive contribution from a small cap long position in the mobile payments space that was up strongly during September. The Manager trimmed the position slightly for risk management purposes but remain upbeat about the company's prospects over the medium term. There have been a number of notable success stories in this space in the USA and the investment is an early mover in the Australian market. Top contributors to performance in September were long positions in Mint Wireless +3.91%, Ingenia Communities +0.65% and Steadfast Group +0.69%. Biggest detractors were our short positions in Leighton -0.62%, RCR Tomlinson - 0.47% and our long position in Sundance Energy -0.45%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Pengana Australian Equities Fund
25 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana's Australian Equity Fund returned 1.38% in September to take 12 month performance to 24%, matching the ASX200 Accumulation index, but with significantly lower volatility.
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25 Oct 2013 - Pengana Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | At the end of September the Fund's cash position was 27% of NAV with the five largest positions being Duet, ANZ, Telstra, NAB and Caltex. Exposure to US$ and New Zealand based companies stood at 21%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Intelligent Investor Value Fund
24 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Intelligent Investor Value Fund returns 4.77% for the month of September, taking the one-year return to 42.68% and the annualised return since inception in November 2009 to 15.09% vs. the ASX200 Accumulation Index's return of 7.76%...
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24 Oct 2013 - Intelligent Investor Value Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The manager's focus is on deep value stocks, turnarounds, asset plays and undervalued small caps. Founded in 2009, the Value Fund is $41m in size and Intelligent Investor has a total $107m under management. |
| Manager Comments | A number of small cap holdings contributed to the Fund's positive performance, including Enero Group, Ingenia Communities and GBST Holdings. The Fund's cash weighting increased slightly to 17%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
24 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Morphic's Global Opportunities Fund has recently completed its first year of operations having returned 29.91% over 12 months with volatility of under 10% and a Sharpe ratio of 2.91 since inception in August 2012.
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24 Oct 2013 - Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund (pdf format)
MORPHIC GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
AFM has updated the Fund Review on the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund.
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.
- Portfolio construction is stock selection agnostic with a bias to value based and momentum strategies. Risk management is a primary consideration in portfolio construction and the strong emphasis on risk is evidenced by the Fund's very high Sortino ratio of 14.35 and maximum drawdown of -0.57%.
- Morphic's philosophy is that only funds with flexible 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.
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund (pdf format)
Pengana Asia Special Events (Onshore) Fund
23 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana's Asian Special Events Fund rose 0.88% in September, and 3% for the quarter, noticing a significant pick up in opportunity.
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23 Oct 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 | The Manager noticed a significant pick up in event driven opportunities across most of the Fund's sub-strategies. In term of M&A, September marked the busiest deal count of the year. A recent trend the Manager has observed is an increase in activity in cross border deals involving China based targets, perhaps an indication that the leadership change has catalysed such activity. In addition, the takeover of Tokyo Electron by Applied Materials marked an unusual inbound Japanese transaction signaling a significant shift of Japanese boards being culturally resistant to a foreign takeover in the face of industry consolidation to protect shareholder interest. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund
23 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for Insync Global Titans Fund for September 2013 shows the Fund delivering an annualised return of 9.26% and annualised standard deviation of 8.34% (since inception in October 2009) with sound risk-reward...
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23 Oct 2013 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL TITANS FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Titans Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Global Titans Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-25 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend growth and downside protection.
- Portfolio selection is driven by a core strategy of investing in companies with sustainable growth in dividends, high returns on capital, positive free cash flows and strong balance sheets.
- The Fund?s unit price decreased by 0.6% in September. The main detractors for the month were GlaxoSmithKline, General Mills and SAP. The largest positive contributions came from our holdings in Reckitt Benckiser, British Sky Broadcasting, Safran and Nestle. Safran has more than a 75% market share in narrow-body aircraft engines, an industry with very high barriers to entry. There appears to be a long cycle of new engine orders underway, driven by a significant replacement cycle due to an ageing global airline fleet, a sharp increase in low-cost airlines, increased air traffic globally, and a significant improvement in fuel efficiency reducing the payback period for airlines on new aircraft investment.
- Emphasis on limiting downside risk is through extensive company research, the ability to hold cash and long protective index put options.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Insync Global Titans Fund (pdf format)
Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund
22 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
Auscap's emerging Australian long short equity fund gains 5.84% in September, taking YTD performance to an impressive +36.48% as the manager approaches the first anniversary of their launch last December.
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22 Oct 2013 - 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. |
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| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Fund Review: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
18 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for BKARF, showing 12 month return of 13.69%, KPI's for September 2013 vs ASX200, Performance (net of fees) and Cumulative Performance since inception.
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18 Oct 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. The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund rose 0.93% in September.
Long positions in Bank of Queensland, Seek and JB Hi-Fi were all meaningful positive contributors. The largest detractors from performance were Share Price Index Futures contracts (hedging long positions), CSL and BHP. Net equity market exposure including derivatives was increased slightly to 29.6% (67.7% long and 38.1% 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.
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund (pdf format)
BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund
18 Oct 2013 - Australian Fund Monitors
The BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund has a low overall risk profile with an annualised volatility of 5.69% (13.19% for the Index) since inception in Sept 2001.
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18 Oct 2013 - BlackRock Australian Equity Market Neutral Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's portfolio primarily consists of long and short Australian equity positions. The Fund may also invest in other funds managed by BlackRock. Derivative securities, such as futures, forwards, swaps and options, can be used to manage risk and return Key insights into the investment process include: Analyst Expectations, Relative Valuation, Earnings Quality, Market Signals and Timing. Short-Term return enhancing opportunities including: Dividend reinvestment plans, Manging index changes, Managing cash flows and Arbitrage, Initial public offerings and Seasoned Equity Offerings and Off Market Buybacks. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund had little net exposure to the global risk sentiment effects, with offsetting long mining and short mining services positions. Stock picking within the domestic sectors added value, especially during the lead up to the August reporting season, when many companies made pre-emptive announcements to foreshadow poor results. Themes of new media versus old media, and online retail versus department stores, added value here. The out-performance of domestic cyclicals post the results season was a net negative for the Fund, with the primary detractors being building materials. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
