The Antares Lodestar Absolute Return Trust posted a small gain of +1.60% in April, continuing the Fund's 2009 trend of posting small upside or downside returns.
The Fund increased its net exposure to 30% over the month, adding cyclical stocks such as Bradken and Western Areas, but also closing out many cyclical positions as these stocks reached their set price targets. These cyclical stocks were the key drivers of performance, with Bradken and Western Areas (which were both up over 30% for April) contributed most to the overall return. Axa Asia Pacific also performed well, the return enhanced by the Fund's participation in the company's capital raising. Rio Tinto, Village Roadshow and A J Lucas were the key detractors from performance. Although there are signs of recovery in global economic markets, the Fund remains underinvested in equities while lagging and coincident indicators remain negative.
