NEWS
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
14 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund fell 0.59% in April to bring the Fund's annual performance since inception to 13.08% compared to the ASX200 Accumulation benchmark's 5.61%.
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14 May 2015 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's discretionary investment strategy commences with a macro view of the economy and direction to establish the portfolio's desired market exposure. Following this detailed sector and company research is gathered from knowledge of the individual stocks in the Fund's universe, with widespread use of broker research. Company visits, presentations and discussions with management at CEO and CFO level are used wherever possible to assess management quality across a range of criteria. Detailed analysis of company valuations using financial statements and forecasts, particularly focusing on free cash flow, is conducted. Technical analysis is used to validate the Manager's fundamental research and valuations and to manage market timing. A significant portion of the Fund's overall performance can be attributed to the attention and importance given to the macro economic outlook and the ability and willingness to adjust the Fund's market risk. |
| Manager Comments | The net equity market exposure of the Fund (including derivatives) was reduced during the month to 39.80% (70.40% long and 30.60% short). ResMed's poorly received quarterly results were a major detractor from the Fund's performance, along with Ramsay Health Care and Westpac. Share Price Index Futures contracts (hedging market exposure), Surfstitch and Transurban were the largest positive contributors. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
13 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust reported a net positive return in April of 1.96%, compared to the ASX200 Accumulation Index of -1.70%.
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13 May 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 100.30% and net exposure of -0.1%. The Fund's stock selection performed strongly in April, with positive attribution on both the fund's long (+0.5%) and short (+1.5%) positions, in an appreciably weaker and more volatile equity market. Their long position in Fairfax and shorts in the banks both did well. The Fund's stock returns were otherwise quite diversified, with no single theme or sector dominating overall performance. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's review of the Fund and the Market. |
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Monash Absolute Investment Fund
12 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Monash Absolute Investment Fund had a flat April (0.0%), while the Australian equity market had its second consecutive negative month (-1.70%).
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12 May 2015 - 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. The Manager's experience across value, growth and discounted cash flow styles allows them to use a comprehensive approach to investment decisions that applies all three. They also have the patience to seek out only compelling opportunities, rather than settling for relative value. The portfolio is somewhat concentrated, looking to diversify across industries and themes, rather than by trying to stay near an index. The portfolio may at times have a large amount of cash or other protection. However once investments are made turnover may be relatively high in order to lock in gains and avoid losses. |
| Manager Comments | The Manager's month-end exposure was net 71%, gross 95%,VAR 1.0%, with a beta of 0.49 for the portfolio. The Fund's short positions generally assisted in April, which was offset by larger portfolio positions that fell despite no news. Some of the highs for the month came from strong gains in VMoto (VMT) and from Energy Action (EAX). However Next DC (NXT) and Netcomm Wireless (NTC) were negative contributors to the Fund's performance. Click the link below to the rest of the Fund Manager's Report. |
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Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund March 2015
11 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Fund review on Supervised High Yield Fund, a fixed income fund, is now available. Also get CPD Points for reading the review.
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11 May 2015 - Fund Review: Supervised High Yield Fund March 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
SUPERVISED HIGH YIELD 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.
We would like to highlight the following aspects of the Fund:
- The Supervised High Yield Fund (SHYF) has a 5 year track record investing in fixed interest investments. The Investment strategy aims to deliver returns with zero correlation to equity markets by investing in debt securities with minimal default probability and offering a premium return above the risk free rate.
- The Fund is managed by Philip Carden whose experience in debt and capital markets spans 32 years, including time with JB Were's Capel Court Securities and Macquarie Bank, where he was the Executive Director responsible for the Debt Markets Division.
- SHYF is an Alternative Income fund which invests in Global and Australian debt markets, with all foreign currency receivables hedged back to Australian dollars.
- The Fund utilises a top down analysis of the economic environment and market to screen and identify debt market opportunities which it believes offer low risk with high yield. The next stage is the development of a risk matrix and investment strategy, following which detailed research is undertaken on specific investment opportunities which meet the pre-defined criteria established in the investment strategy.
- Prior to approving an investment for the Fund each potential investment is subject to two stress tests. The first of these is for credit and default risk, in which the investment is stress-tested to ensure that in a worst case economic environment it can repay 100% of its principal and interest obligations case scenario for the asset by examining the highest margin over the risk rate that the investment has previously experienced in a crisis situation. Any decline in value under the stress test that exceeds 10% of the Fund's value is avoided The second test examines market risk. In this case Carden looks at the worst case scenario for the asset by examining the highest margin over the risk rate that the investment has previously experienced in a crisis situation. Any decline in value under the stress test that exceeds 10% of the Fund's value is avoided.
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Hedge Clippings
8 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
We might apologize for being boring, but the budget shouldn't be!
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8 May 2015 - Hedge Clippings
By: Australian Fund Monitors
We might apologize for being boring, but the budget shouldn't be!
Each Friday the Hedge Clippings team cast their collective minds over the economic activity of the previous seven days, taking note when we can of happenings relevant to the absolute return and hedge fund sector. Uppermost in our thinking is trying to remain relevant and informative while trying not to bore the socks off our readers, not to mention ourselves, at the same time.
You might think we shouldn't be so indulgent as to worry about whether we're the ones bored or not, but it does concern us. Given that there's been an unrelenting theme of QE, central bank intervention, and low and falling interest rates across financial markets for so long now, it's been difficult to avoid being boring, as we're sure you might have noticed.
The net result of the these conditions has been, as we've mentioned before, the rise of the TINA, or There Is No Alternative, investment strategy that has seen equity market valuations pushed and stretched to dangerous levels as noted this week by no less than US Fed head honcho, Janet Yellen.
It is ironic therefore that at a time when the RBA reduced rates by a further 25 bps to an unheralded 2%, 10 year bond yields both in Australia and overseas start to rise, and rise quite sharply, with the result that equity markets, and particularly the high yielding banks, retreated sharply.
For the record the ASX 200 Accumulation Index fell 1.7% in April (compared with early indications of equity-based hedge funds rising 0.52%) and has fallen a further 2.5% since, including the largest one-day fall for a couple of years.
Whether this was the start of a much anticipated pullback, or just a pause remains to be seen, but it was certainly an indication of what could, or should happen in response to rising bond yields.
And while on the subject of boring, PM Tony Abbott has promised Australia a boring budget next week. For his part it might be wishful thinking, hoping perhaps that the electoral response to Joe Hockey's second budget will be boring, unlike last year's. Unfortunately a boring budget is not what is required, and it is gratifying to see that there is an increasingly widespread opinion that long-term vision and strong management, rather than pandering to interest groups and personal political survival, are what's required.
Specific results received this week include the following LATEST PERFORMANCE UPDATES:
Alpha Beta Asian Fund generated a return of -1.16% during March, to bring the Fund's annual return since inception to 6.77% p.a.
Signature Quantitative Fund 2.80% for March, to bring the annual performance since inception to 15.99%.
The KIS Asia Long Short Fund returned of2.59% during March, bringing the Fund's annual return since inception to 14.91% p.a
Supervised High Yield Fund rose 0.45% during March to bring the Fund's annual return since inception to 10.23%. In the same time frame the RBA Cash Rate returned 3.49%.
FUND REVIEWS released this week, with the potential for earning CPD points: Insync Global Titans Fund
FUND IN FOCUS VIDEO released this week: Jack Lowenstein, the Joint CIO of the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund discusses the market and the May monthly outlook.
25-27 May 2015 - Digital Marketing for Banking and Financial Services Summit
15 September 2015 - AIMA Australia Hedge Fund Forum 2015
And while on the political theme, a re-run of Tony Abbott and the Holy Grail.
And on that note enjoy the week-end.
Kind regards,
Chris
CEO,AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS
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Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund March 2015
8 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Titans decreased by 0.50% during March. Read the latest Fund Review & get CPD points.
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8 May 2015 - Fund Review: Insync Global Titans Fund March 2015
By: Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund AFM Fund Review March 2015 (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL TITANS FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Titans 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.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Fund's unit price decreaed by 0.50% during the month of March. The performance was driven by positive contributions from our holdings in Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Experian and Sanofi as well as the weaker Australian dollar. The main negative contributors were Time Warner Cable, Microsoft and Discover Financial Services. The Fund continues to have no foreign currency hedging in place as Insync consider the main risks to the Australian dollar to be on the downside.
- The Global Titans Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 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.
- 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.
Sean Webster
Research Manager
Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund AFM Fund Review March 2015 (pdf format)
KIS Asia Long Short Fund
7 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
KIS Asia Long Short Fund rose 2.59% during March, bring the Fund's annual return since inception to 14.91% p.a.
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7 May 2015 - KIS Asia Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Whilst the Fund's primary strategy is focused on long/short equities, the ability to retain discretionary powers to allocate across a number of other investment strategies is reserved. These strategies may include, but not be limited to: convertible bond investments, portfolio hedging, equity related arbitrage, special situations (e.g. merger arbitrage, rights offerings, participation in international public offerings and placements, etc.). The Fund's geographic focus is Asia excluding Japan, but including Australia). The Fund may invest outside of this region to the extent that: 1. The investment decision is driven from the Asian region or; 2. The exposure is intended to mitigate risk or enhance return from factors external to the Asian region. |
| Manager Comments | Majority of the month's return came from the Long Short Strategy, contributing 242bp. The Fund saw extraordinary moves in Hong Kong as the market anticipates mainland institutions buying cheaper Hong Kong equities given valuations have risen significantly in mainland A-shares. The Fund also saw improving volumes in the equity markets that they focus on and believe M&A is making a significant come back as are IPO's and secondary deals. The Fund continues to have a long bias in Asia and a short bias in Australia where the economic outlook is poor. Markets in Australia have been driven higher on interest rate cuts, rather than improvements in company earnings. Overall, equity markets look expensive; the Fund is cautious given the reasonable probability of a fall in equities at some point during the year. Click below to read rest of the Fund Manager's Latest Report. |
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Alpha Beta Asian Fund
6 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Alpha Beta Asian Fund generated a return of -1.16% during March to bring the Fund's annual return since inception to 6.77% pa.
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6 May 2015 - Alpha Beta Asian Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The investment objective of the Fund is to produce positive annual returns without excessive risk. This is achieved through the use of a quantitative approach to invest both long and short in large cap companies listed on Asian stock exchanges. The Fund may also use index futures to manage risk. Stock prices and company fundamental data are decomposed into directional and mean reverting components. Each of Alpha Beta's models are based on either of these known behaviours with capital management built into each model. The benefit of a quantitative approach is that it is both repeatable and unemotional, and allows a different source of returns to be extracted from a very noisy market environment. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's March performance was driven by weak performance in their Quantamental models, as value factors were hit quite hard in Japan and Korea in particular. The Fund's Statistic Arbitrage models were relatively steady during the month. The Fund has recently completed their out of sample testing on two additions to their Stat Arb suite: a new Seasonality model for Japan, and a new Pairs Trading strategy for both Japan and Australia. Out of sample results were strong in both cases and the Fund is now working to implement these two models. Click the link below to see the Latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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Signature Quantitative Fund
5 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Signature Quantitative Fund returned 2.80% for March, to bring the annual performance since inception to 15.99%.
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5 May 2015 - Signature Quantitative Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | SQF has been established to profit from anomalies surrounding event driven, behavioural & factor based structural market inefficiencies which generate significant profits and are uncorrelated & persistent over time. Specific strategies such as dividend arbitrage, index addition and deletion, tax year end, capital raisings, among other strategies are used by the Fund. The Fund's initial focus is on investing in Australian and New Zealand markets. |
| Manager Comments | In February, the Dividend Arbitrage Strategy performed strongly. The Dividend Arbitrage strategy performed strongly in March. SQF closed out a large majority of the Dividend Arbitrage strategy trades through March as many stocks went ex-dividend. SQF's outperformance was driven primarily by the ex-date anomaly working well for the fund. The Capital Raisings and Alpha Capture strategies had flat performance in March. Click the link below to view the latest Monthly Report. |
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Supervised High Yield Fund
4 May 2015 - Australian Fund Monitors
Supervised High Yield Fund rose 0.45% during March to bring the Fund's annual return since inception to 10.23%. In the same time frame the RBA Cash Rate returned 3.49%.
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4 May 2015 - Supervised High Yield Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund may also invest in interest rate swaps, options over authorized investments and exchange traded futures contracts. All these will be either listed or traded in a market where they can be independently valued. Fundamental to the investment procedure is the tenet that no debt security will qualify for investment unless it can repay 100% of its principal and interest in a worst case economic scenario. |
| Manager Comments | More than half of the portfolio's composition was in Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) at 55.28%. The rest of the portfolio was divided in the following sectors: US Corporate Loans at26.82%, Cash at 10.00% and Margin deposit at 5.12% and AUD Corporate Loans at 2.36%. Click below to view the latest Fund Manager Report. |
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