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Printed: 21 September 2026 6:07 AM

9 Aug 2016 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust

By: Australian Fund Monitors
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Report Date05 August 2016
ManagerOptimal Fund Management Australia
Fund NameOptimal Australia Absolute Trust
StrategyEquity Long/Short
Latest Return DateJuly 2016
Latest Return-2.30%
Latest 6 Months2.46%
Latest 12 Months8.37%
Latest 24 Months8.47%
Annualised Since Inception8.71%
Inception Date15 September 2008
FUM (millions)AU$100
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 returned -2.3% in July. Since inception, the Fund has an annualised return of 8.71% p.a. (Index 5.63% p.a.), which has been achieved with relatively low volatility of 3.80% p.a. (Index 14.46% p.a).

The Fund's small investment in lithium producer Orocobre was the big winner over the year. The insurance, builders, banks and media sectors positively contributed in July. However, the healthcare, staples, resources and index futures sectors detracted from the performance. The bias against interest-rate sensitive stocks proved expensive as a means of hedging portfolio risk. At month-end, the Fund had gross exposure of 94% and net short exposure of 22%. The Fund will continue to maintain a defensive focus.

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