NEWS
Corporate Governance: Turning the Tables on Institutional Investors
25 Jul 2019 - Kevin Smith, Delft Partners
In the light of a plethora of commentary on ESG issues we wanted to re-post our observations on ESG in Asia. This is by Kevin Smith Head of Asia Pacific Equities at Delft Partners.
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25 Jul 2019 - Corporate Governance: Turning the Tables on Institutional Investors
By: Kevin Smith, Delft Partners
Performance Report: Harvest Lane Asset Management Absolute Return Fund
24 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Harvest Lane Absolute Return Fund has returned +8.40% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 6.97% since inception in July 2013. By contrast, the ASX200 Accumulation Index has returned +10.24% p.a. with an annualised volatility of...
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24 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: Harvest Lane Asset Management Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Harvest Lane Asset Management employs a conservative, highly selective and opportunistic approach. Using their extensive knowledge in the area of corporate actions, the Fund's managers assess each opportunity based on a thoughtful, diligent and disciplined process and invest where they believe an opportunity exists to generate above average investment returns relative to the risk incurred. Investment decisions are made without speculating on market direction, with rigid risk controls enforced to minimise the risk of large losses of investor capital. The Fund invests in securities that are predominantly listed on the ASX and occasionally in those listed in other developed markets. Equity swaps and other derivatives may be used at times to reduce risk. The fund typically holds high levels of cash in the absence of sufficiently attractive opportunities to deploy investor capital in accordance with its objectives. |
| Manager Comments | Harvest Lane say June delivered a rather subdued end to the year with the portfolio posting a modest decrease of -1.03%. The strategy continues to deliver on its stated goal of producing positive absolute returns; the portfolio delivered a positive return for its sixth full year in operation and is yet to produce a negative result for any financial year period. They remain optimistic about the future, noting deal flow remains plentiful. Harvest Lane noted there are a lot of green shoots in the portfolio as they enter July, giving them confidence in delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns in the months and years ahead. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
24 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund rose +3.19% in June, taking annualised performance since inception in February 2009 to +16.17% versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +11.04%.
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24 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The overriding objective of the Concentrated Australian Equities Fund is to seek investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings, while satisfying our stringent quality criteria. Bennelong's investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis together with proprietary investment tools which are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The portfolio typically consists of 20-35 high-conviction stocks from the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities. Derivative instruments are mainly used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. |
| Manager Comments | Over the June quarter the Fund returned +4.47% versus the Index's +7.97%. Whilst the Fund has outperformed over the long term, Bennelong noted performance over the past year had been disappointing. The largest detractor over the quarter was Reliance Worldwide after the company downgraded its earnings guidance in May, however, Bennelong believe the shares now look well placed for attractive returns over the medium term. Not having any exposure to the strongly performing banks was the next major reason for the Fund's relative underperformance. Bennelong believe earnings headwinds remain for the banking sector; net interest margin remain under pressure, credit growth remains soft, bad debt could trend upward if employment or the general economy start to suffer. The next largest detractors were Corporate Travel Management and Costa Group. The main positive contributor was Aristocrat Leisure after the company reported strong half year results in May. |
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Facebook Faceplant
24 Jul 2019 - Marcel von Pfyffer, Arminius Capital
Last month, with a great fanfare and many pious platitudes, Facebook announced its proposed global cryptocurrency, Libra. We, along with many others, expressed doubt that Libra would meet the regulatory standards which are mandatory in...
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24 Jul 2019 - Facebook Faceplant
By: Marcel von Pfyffer, Arminius Capital
Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
23 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The NWQ Fiduciary Fund was flat in June, returning -0.03%. Since inception in May 2013 the Fund has returned +5.05% p.a. with an annualised volatility of 4.82%.
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23 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: NWQ Fiduciary Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund aims to produce returns, after management fees and expenses of between 8% to 11% p.a. over rolling five-year periods. Furthermore, the Fund aims to achieve these returns with volatility that is a fraction of the Australian equity market, in order to smooth returns for investors. |
| Manager Comments | NWQ's view is that equity and bond market pricing reflect two very different outlooks for the global economy; equity investors are looking through falling earnings and expecting the Fed to step in and cut interest rates to justify current multiples, while bond investors see deteriorating economic fundamentals and geopolitical risks as potentially leading to a recession in the near term. NWQ believe we are likely to see higher levels of volatility whilst these conflicting outlooks resolve themselves. In this scenario they consider having a 'market neutral' portfolio of long/short managers a sound way of navigating the potentially challenging times ahead. |
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Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
23 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Quality Equity Fund rose +6.66% in June, outperforming AFM's Global Equity index by +1.36% and taking annualised performance since October 2009 to +13.50% versus the Index's +11.28%.
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23 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: Insync Global Quality Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Insync employs four simple screens to narrow the universe of over 40,000 listed companies globally to a focus group of high-quality companies that it believes have the potential to consistently grow their profits and dividends. These screens are: size of the company, balance sheet performance, valuation and dividend quality. Companies that pass this due diligence process are then valued using dividend discount models, free cash flow yield and proprietary implied growth and expected return models. The end result is a high conviction portfolio typically of 15-30 stocks. The principal investments will be in shares of companies listed on international stock exchanges (including the US, Europe and Asia). The Fund may also hold cash, derivatives (for example futures, options and swaps), currency contracts, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The Fund may also invest in various types of international pooled investment vehicles. |
| Manager Comments | Insync attribute the Fund's June performance to strong contributions from stock selection. Positive performers included Booking Holdings, Visa, Zoetis, Facebook and Boston Scientific Corp. Detractors included Ross Stores, London Stock Exchange, PayPal Holdings, Reed Elsevier and Amadeus IT. There continues to be no currency hedging as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside. |
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Performance Report: 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
23 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The 4D Global Infrastructure Fund rose +3.13% in June, outperforming its benchmark (OECD G7 Inflation Index +5.5%) by +2.22% and taking annualised performance since inception in March 2016 to +14.38%.
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23 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: 4D Global Infrastructure Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund will be managed as a single portfolio of listed global infrastructure securities including regulated utilities in gas, electricity and water, transport infrastructure such as airports, ports, road and rail as well as communication assets such as the towers and satellite sectors. The portfolio is intended to have exposure to both developed and emerging market opportunities, with country risk assessed internally before any investment is considered. The maximum absolute position of an individual stock is 7% of the fund. |
| Manager Comments | The strongest portfolio performer for June was Brazilian toll road operator Ecorodovias, up +18.9% for the month as part of a buoyant Brazilian market. The weakest performer was Mexican tower operator Telesites, down -10.9% as a result of ongoing political concerns surrounding AMLO's policy execution. 4D Infrastructure believe the economy remains supportive of the Fund's overweight positioning to user pay assets, despite a slowing global macro environment. They also believe emerging markets will remain solid with the Fed likely easing rates. However, they add ongoing geo-political issues see them avoiding certain markets until issues are resolved (e.g. Brexit). They are also seeing certain markets move ahead of fundamentals and have taken a more defensive stance in these regions. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
22 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund rose +3.82% in June, taking annualised performance since inception in November 2009 to +10.34% versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +8.41%.
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22 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is managed as one portfolio but comprises and combines two separately managed exposures: 1. An investment in the top 20 stocks of the markets, which the Fund achieves by taking an indexed position in the S&P/ASX 20 Index; and 2. An investment in the stocks beyond the S&P/ASX 20 Index. This exposure is managed on an active basis using a fundamental core approach. The Fund may also invest in securities expected to be listed on the ASX, securities listed or expected to be listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities.Derivative instruments may be used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. The Fund typically holds between 40-55 stocks and thus is considered to be highly concentrated. This means that investors should expect to see high short-term volatility. The Fund seeks to achieve growth over the long-term, therefore the minimum suggested investment timeframe is 5 years. |
| Manager Comments | Over the June quarter the Fund returned +7.84% versus the ASX200's +7.97%. Given the makeup of the portfolio, the Fund's return is driven largely by the top 20 stocks, and its relative performance is determined by positions in ex-20 stocks. The main detractors included Reliance Worldwide and Costa Group. The Fund doesn't hold any gold stocks and therefore missed out on their strong performance over the quarter. The main positive contributor was Aristocrat Leisure after the company reported strong half year financial results in May, above the market's expectations. Bennelong's view is that the market is largely being driven by macro factors at present, however, they believe ultimately stock prices won't be able to ignore longer term fundamental drivers of valuation, earnings and growth. |
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Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund
22 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Capital Aware Fund rose +6.02% in June, outperforming AFM's Global Equity Index by +0.72% after the cost of fees and protection. The Fund has returned +11.01% p.a. since inception in October 2009.
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22 Jul 2019 - Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Insync employs four simple screens to narrow the universe of over 40,000 listed companies globally to a focus group of high quality companies that it believes have the potential to consistently grow their profits and dividends. These screens are size of the company, balance sheet performance, valuation and dividend quality. Companies that pass this due diligence process are then valued using dividend discount models, free cash flow yield and proprietary implied growth and expected return models. The end result is a high conviction portfolio of typically 15-30 stocks. The principal investments will be in shares of companies listed on international stock exchanges (including the US, Europe and Asia). The Fund may also hold cash, derivatives (for example futures, options and swaps), currency contracts, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The Fund may also invest in various types of international pooled investment vehicles. At times, Insync may consider holding higher levels of cash if valuations are full and it is difficult to find attractive investment opportunities. When Insync believes markets to be overvalued, it may hold part of its resources in cash, or use derivatives as a way of reducing its equity exposure. Insync may use options, futures and other derivatives to reduce risk or gain exposure to underlying physical investments. The Fund may purchase put options on market indices or specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. |
| Manager Comments | Performance was largely driven by strong contributions from stock selection in June. Top contributors included Booking Holdings, Visa, Zoetis, Facebook and Boston Scientific Corp. Detractors included Ross Stores, London Stock Exchange, PayPal Holdings, Reed Elsevier and Amadeus IT. The Fund continues to have no currency hedging as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside. |
| More Information |
New Funds on Fundmonitors.com
22 Jul 2019 - Australian Fund Monitors
Here are some of the latest additions to our database. Follow the links to view each fund's profile, where you'll have access to their offer documents, monthly reports, historical returns, performance analytics, rankings, research,...
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22 Jul 2019 - New Funds on Fundmonitors.com
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Ellerston Australian Micro Cap Fund | ||||
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| Watermark Absolute Return Fund | ||||
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| The Navis Jockey Fund | ||||
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| Fairlight Global Small & Mid Cap (SMID) Fund | ||||
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| TAMIM Small Cap Income Fund | ||||
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