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26 Mar 2013 - Platypus Australian Equity Fund February 2013

By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Report Date24 March 2013
ManagerPlatypus Asset Management
Fund NamePlatypus Australian Equity Fund
StrategyEquity Long
Latest Return DateFebruary 2013
Latest Return3.10%
Latest 6 Months19.25%
Latest 12 Months18.74%
Latest 24 Months12.04%
Annualised Since Inception13.32%
Inception Date01 December 1998
FUM (millions)AU$1124
Fund OverviewThe investment style is growth with a small-cap bias. Index weightings are largely ignored, which typically creates a high tracking error portfolio. Although its investment philosophy has not changed since inception, the manager has gradually concentrated the portfolio over time. Typically, the portfolio consists of 25 to 35 stocks, with approximately 50% of the investment in relatively large and liquid companies. Investment strategies are undertaken with complete independence and while external resources are utilised as part of the process, investment decisions are generated internally. Areas such as percentage down from cost, weighting percentages, increases relative to time and company downgrades are covered by strict sell guidelines.
Manager CommentsThe Platypus Australian Equity Fund recorded a return of 3.1% over February and 18.74% over the previous 12 months.

In terms of negative impacts on the portfolio the manager notes that Western Areas was a drag on relative performance as the nickel price remained depressed. While not owning National Australia Bank, was a notable drag on the month’s alpha, nil positions in other large cap names like Newcrest Mining, Telstra and Rio Tinto contributed to February’s performance. Amongst the stocks owned, CSL was the biggest contributor to performance followed by Codan, a new addition to the portfolio.

While the fund's under-performance was driven mainly by stocks not in the portfolio, Industrials and Financials sectors were the other notable drags on performance.On the positive side, Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology and a nil weighting in Telecommunication Services added to relative performance during February.

New positions in the month included Amcor, Acrux, Woodside, Realestate.com, Codan and JB Hi-Fi. Caltex was sold, monetizing a profitable trade, Aurizon (nee QR National) was also sold after they delivered earnings below expectations as was TWE after their 2013 guidance was underwhelming relative to our expectations.

The balance of the month’s trading activity involved topping up in stocks such as Blackthorn Resources, Fortescue Metals Group and Sirtex Medical, funded from selling down positions in BHP, Oil Search, Westpac, Ramsay Healthcare, Resmed, News Corp and Flight Centre.

In terms of valuation, the market is neither cheap nor expensive. If the manager's moderately bullish stance on the earnings upgrade cycle is correct, we would expect the market to remain at around present valuations. While cognizant of the fact that after strong price returns, the likelihood of a short term pullback increases, for longer term investors the manager's view is that on balance, Australian equities represent value at these levels and as a domestic investor, you are still being paid to hold equities.
More Information» View detailed profile of this fund

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