Fund Monitors Pty Ltd

www.fundmonitors.com
© Copyright 2026
Printed: 21 September 2026 6:54 PM

19 Jun 2019 - Performance Report: Bennelong Australian Equities Fund

By: Australian Fund Monitors
Copy Article Link

Report Date19 June 2019
ManagerBennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP), a Bennelong boutique
Fund NameBennelong Australian Equities Fund
StrategyEquity Long
Latest Return DateMay 2019
Latest Return-1.45%
Latest 6 Months12.32%
Latest 12 Months2.01%
Latest 24 Months (pa)12.56%
Annualised Since Inception13.34%
Inception Date30 January 2009
FUM (millions)AU$498.62
Fund OverviewBennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) is a boutique asset manager offering Australian equities solutions for institutional and retail clients. The business was founded in 2008 by Paul Cuddy and Mark East, in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management. Prior to establishing BAEP, Paul and Mark were Co-Heads of Australian Equities at ING Investment Management.

The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund seeks quality investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings.

The investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis with proprietary investment tools that are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The investment team manages an extensive company/industry contact program which helps identify and verify various investment opportunities.

The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to the ASX-listed securities. The Fund typically holds between 25-60 stocks with a maximum net targeted position of an individual stock of 6%.
Manager CommentsThe Bennelong Australian Equities Fund has returned +13.34% p.a. since inception in February 2009 versus the ASX200 Accumulation Index's +10.75%. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios for performance since inception, 118.1% and 96.6% respectively, indicate that, on average, the Fund has outperformed in both rising and falling markets.

The Fund returned -1.45% in May, taking the YTD return to +13.08%. The largest detractor was Reliance Worldwide after the company downgraded its earnings guidance. Bennelong noted that, as Reliance had a large weighting in the portfolio, the share price decline had a material impact on performance. Other detractors included Corporate Travel Management and Costa Group. The main positive contributor to performance was Aristocrat Leisure.

Bennelong's view is that while valuation metrics such as price-to-earnings ratios appear relatively attractive for the ASX, the main risk they see is that of earnings risk; i.e. the risk that companies disappoint investors by delivering earnings below expectations. They note that share prices have often fallen disproportionately in response to earnings downgrades, such as those seen with Reliance Worldwide and Costa Group. Their conclusion is that investors remain very risk-averse, short-term focused and skittish.
More Information

Australian Fund Monitors Pty Ltd
A.C.N. 122 226 724
AFSL 324476
Email: contact@fundmonitors.com
Live chat