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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, Arbitrage, Initial public offerings and Seasoned Equity Offerings and Off Market Buybacks. |
| Manager Comments | The manager comments that the Australian equity market continued its rally into February with the S&P/ASX 200 Price Index up 4.6% to mark its third consecutive month of gains. This was despite some volatility caused by concerns about US Federal Reserve policy and the Italian election result. Investors were buoyed by an earnings season that tended to see companies meet or beat expectations, with cost reductions and margin improvement recurring themes, and payout ratios generally lifted. The bullish tone was not reflected in a typical risk on rally, with ASX200 Resources up 0.6% while ASX200 REITs were up 3.5% and Industrials up 6.9%. The search for yield in the equity market appeared to focus mainly on the big four banks, which outperformed strongly. Domestic Cyclicals performed well through the results season, particularly financials and retailers, as better than expected results squeezed short positions. Despite the continued market valuation expansion, the result season saw a greater differentiation in returns at the individual stock level than was witnessed in January. This favored the fund's investment process and led to a rebound in active performance. The fund recorded contributions from JB Hi-Fi, Bluescope Steel, Cochlear, IAG and NAB. Detractors from performance include Seek, Toll, Alumina, QBE and Treasury Group. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
