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Printed: 20 September 2026 11:43 AM

15 Oct 2013 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Report Date14 October 2013
ManagerOptimal Fund Management Australia
Fund NameOptimal Australia Absolute Trust
StrategyEquity Long/Short
Latest Return DateSeptember 2013
Latest Return0.43%
Latest 6 Months1.26%
Latest 12 Months2.78%
Latest 24 Months8.42%
Annualised Since Inception10.85%
Inception Date15 September 2008
FUM (millions)AU$154
Fund OverviewThe investment objective of the Fund is to seek to achieve above average returns in absolute terms, through investing in listed securities in Australia and New Zealand, subject to the overarching requirement of capital preservation. Investments will predominantly be in equity securities but may include fixed interest instruments, money market instruments, derivatives and foreign exchange contracts.

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 CommentsOptimal Australia Absolute Trust recorded 0.43% in September bringing it's since inception (Sept 2008) return to 10.85% vs 5.00% for the ASX 200 Accum. The Fund's risk controls are indicated by the very low annualised volatility of 3.62% vs 15.37% for the Index over the same time frame.

The Manager notes that at a market level, there has still been little change in the pattern of leadership. Despite very rich valuations, defensive yield and financials still seem to attract the majority of fresh money flows in our market, and the Fed's recent actions may continue to limit the perceived utility of valuation for a while longer, dangerous as that is. In this environment, hedging risk has been a frustrating and expensive exercise, although in the Manager's view, an increasingly essential one. Risk still strikes the Manager as being asymmetrically priced, with only low single-digit returns on offer from equity and debt securities if things hold together, and the prospect of much more substantial losses if they do not.
More Information» View detailed profile of this fund

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