5 Dec 2014 - Hedge Clippings

Hedge Clippings is in part concerned, and in part excited by the fact that after today there are only two more Fridays before Christmas. On the one hand there seems an awful lot to do in a short space of time, while on the other a welcome break beckons. Maybe even a chance return of a good old-fashioned Friday lunch, which sadly (or gladly) are not as frequent as they once were.

We are however looking forward to 2015 and all it has to offer, and take this opportunity of giving you a heads up regarding an event we have scheduled in Sydney at midday on Thursday the 12^th of February in conjunction with Deloitte to kick the new year off. The theme will be "Looking Forward, Looking Back" and will feature an expert panel of fund managers, each covering different strategies and geographies, who will provide the audience with their collective wisdom on the economic and market outlook for 2015.

If you want to register your interest in receiving an invitation to the event please click here.

Others who might be looking forward to a welcome break will no doubt include the Prime Minister and his Treasurer, both of whom have endured what could be best described as a 'difficult year', or at least a particularly difficult six or seven months since the budget was announced last May. The fact that there seem to be so many issues still open to resolution in the Senate will not only be causing the government some headaches over the holidays, but will also have some negative effect on consumer confidence, and the very economy the Treasurer is trying to manage.

With the potential, and in some quarters expectations, of a further cut by the RBA to interest rates, there is a strong indication that the economy is not the greatest of shapes. Certainly the commodities boom, while possibly not bust, is not what it was, and only the largest and lowest cost iron ore producers are likely to be operating profitably. None of this is helping the Aussie dollar, but Hedge Clippings has felt for some time that it has been stubbornly overpriced, with probably some further room to fall. No doubt that prediction will be enough to kick some life back into it!

Prior to that David Murray will finally announce the findings of his Financial System Inquiry. All will be revealed this Sunday (you can register for access to the report here), with significant expectations that the Inquiry's recommendations will be wide ranging, and in some cases controversial. As we've mentioned before, previous inquiries such as the Henry Tax Review, and Mark Johnson's 2009 report on the financial sector created plenty of stir, but not much action once the politicians of the day had finished with them.

And on that note, enjoy the weekend, and if you have nothing better to do on Sunday than download the FSI report, Happy Reading!

Specific results received this week include the following PERFORMANCE UPDATES:

It's early days for November results, but those received so far include the Bennelong Long Short Equity Market Neutral Fund, which bounced back with a return of 3.12%, whilst the Bennelong Alpha 200 Fund returned 5.08%.

Supervised High Yield Fund returned 0.41% during October and 6.50% over the prior 12 months with a volatility of 0.74%.

FUND REVIEWS released this week, all with the potential for earning CPD points:

Alpha Beta Asian Fund; Optimal Australia Absolute Trust; Totus Alpha Fund

Best wishes for a happy and healthy weekend,

Chris
CEO, AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS

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Australian Fund Monitors are helping to raise awareness to support research into prevention and cure for cerebral palsy.  For more information visit www.cpresearch.org.au or contact me by email.