• Driving efficiency through the enhanced measurement, reporting and analysis of investment data
• Managing increasing data volumes - people, technology, value, compliance
• Implementing effective systems to support forecast growth in fund and member volumes
• Examining the ideal investment models for your fund
• Opportunities and challenges posed by new APRA reporting regulations
• New technology - tools to enhance the investment administration of increasingly diverse portfolios
• The changing relationship between funds and custodians
• Reducing costs and improving returns for funds administration
• Creating a profit centre from operations including securities lending

An Advisory Board comprising of the industry's top thought leaders is guiding the Investment Administration Conference. The Advisory Board includes:

• Peter Curtis, head of investment operations, AustralianSuper
• Lounarda David, investment operations manager, Sunsuper
• Stephen Huppert, partner, Deloitte
• Mark Neary, managing director Asia Pacific, Milestone
• Kyle Ringrose, head of investment operations, QSuper
• Rohan Singh, managing director, country head, Northern Trust
• Drew Vaughan, owner, Dymond, Foulds & Vaughan

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.

Sean Webster

Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors

Sean Webster
Research and Database Manager
Australian Fund Monitors

• The Bennelong Alpha 200 Fund is a new fund opened in December 2013.  The Fund is broadly modelled on the strategy used for Bennelong's original Equity Long Short Fund which uses a market neutral "pairs trading" approach to invest in Top 100 stocks, and which has been managed by Richard Fish since the inception of BLSEM in 2002.
• The Alpha 200 Fund however primarily invests within the top 200 by market capitalisation, using a similar "pairs trading" approach while remaining broadly market neutral on a cost basis.
• The Fund will hold 70 - 90 stocks comprising 35 to 45 pairs,although it can hold up to 100 stocks and 50 pairs. Each pair contains one
  long and one short position each of which is thoroughly researched and,where possible, from the same market sector. The pair positions are dollar neutral at cost, limited in terms of sector exposure, and give theportfolio a target beta of zero over time.
• In addition to Richard Fish, the team is composed of Sam Shepherd who joined BLESM from Credit Suisse, where he ran the Melbourne institutional equities desk. Shepherd's 20 year experience also covers JP Morgan and Norwich Investment Management. Tim Hall recently joined BLSEM as a specialist mid and small-cap portfolio manager to work on the expanded universe of the 200 Alpha Fund. The team is supported by experienced investment analyst, Sam Taylor.