NEWS
Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
15 Feb 2012 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia return +1.51% in January, but remain cautious as equity markets remain dysfunctional
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15 Feb 2012 - Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Comments | Optimal continue to describe the market as dysfunctional, with sharp rallies on thin volumes meaning investors must either prepare for the bounce, or struggle to chase it. In spite of the unpredictability of markets since inception in September 2008, the fund has only suffered 3 negative months. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
15 Feb 2012 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong's Kardinia Long Short fund progressively increases gross exposure with a number of cyclical and resource positions as risk appetite returns
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15 Feb 2012 - Performance Report: Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | As a result management of the Fund was transferred to Kardinia Capital, a new boutique fund manager 65% owned by Burgess and Rehder, with the balance owned by Bennelong Funds Management. The Fund's investment strategy and prior track record will remain intact. The Kardinia Absolute Return Fund is an Australian domiciled equity long/short fund investing in ASX listed securities. The Fund uses some exchange traded call options and there is limited use of SPI futures contracts to hedge overall market risk. The Fund consists of a concentrated long/short portfolio typically comprising 30 to 40 ASX300 listed stocks, generally with a long bias aligned to the overall market direction. There is a slight bias to large cap stocks in the long side of the portfolio, although in a rising market the portfolio will tend to hold smaller caps, including resource stocks, more frequently. |
| Manager Comments | The fund's net equity market exposure was progressively increased to 42.5% (47.2% long and 4.7% short) with the addition of a number of cyclical and resources positions. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
16 Dec 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Gains in the long/short, options, yield and M&A deliver positive return for Aurora Fortitude in November
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16 Dec 2011 - Performance Report: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The Long/Short strategy (+0.23%) provided the best returns for Aurora in November, with the Options portfolio also adding +0.19% from large stock specific moves. The Yield and M&A books also posted positive returns of +0.15% and +0.12% respectively, with Convergence the only small detractor from performance (-0.05%)) as a result of a contraction in the spread between Wesfarmers Partially Protected and the fully paid shares. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
15 Dec 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia overcomes dysfunctional markets as government and central bank interference in November fails to prevent another positive month.
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15 Dec 2011 - Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Comments | Optimal feels that the Eurozone crisis is far from over and that austerity will overhang growth in both Europe and the USA for some time to come. Accordingly risk settings will remain conservative in spite of the possibility of market rallies being sudden and violent. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
15 Dec 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong returns to a more familiar positive position as the market continued its roller coaster and short positions carried the day
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15 Dec 2011 - Performance Report: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The manager feels markets are currently representing reasonable value as macro related concerns are depressing prices and investors remain negative, and expects 2012 will see a continuation of cautious equity markets and subdued growth. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
13 Jul 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia falls -1.38% in June, only the second monthly loss since the Fund's inception in September 2008
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13 Jul 2011 - Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Comments | Optimal remains cautious in spite of feeling that equity markets have factored in much of the bad news, reinforcing their view that equity investment is very difficult at this point. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Bennelong Securities Long Short Equity Fund
12 Jul 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong continues to defy difficult markets with another positive month, driven by the short portfolio
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12 Jul 2011 - Performance Report: Bennelong Securities Long Short Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | 60% of the Fund's pairs produced a positive return, with performance skewed to the short portfolio which produced 150% of the net return as analysts downgraded earnings on a number of the portfolio's short positions. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
17 Jun 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia returns +0.57%, avoiding the market downturn and turbulence by reducing net exposure to 20%
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17 Jun 2011 - Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Comments | The fund manager continues to believe that the key drivers of world equity pricing remain the gradient of the US economic recovery (and if the US will achieve a self-sustaining recovery that is sufficiently strong to put the US on the road to economic and fiscal repair) and whether China can slow without stumbling. More immediately, markets will fluctuate in anticipation of the Fed’s next move and whether it persists with its reckless strategy of printing money. In Australia, the GDP data will improve with the recovery in exports, and while trying to pick the bottom in consumer-related earnings still seems risky, a number of valuations are now attractive on any definition of mid-cycle earnings power. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
19 May 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Aurora Fortitude returns provided by Event Driven portfolio, with the option and yield books also contributing to the positive 1.25% performance.
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19 May 2011 - Performance Report: Aurora Fortitude Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | Origin Energy Limited (ORG, +0.8%) benefited from higher energy prices the options book took advantage of this, as well as the end of the rights issue trading. In the Yield book The Fairfax Media Convertible Preference Securities (FXJPB) were redeemed at month end. This was the portfolio’s largest exposure. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
17 May 2011 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia April return +0.74% against what the manager described as a sloppy market which fell -0.30%
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17 May 2011 - Performance Report: Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | 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 Comments | The Manager commented that the strong A$ is continuing to bear down on the Australian equity market: First, it is giving offshore investors a strong incentive to sell the local market, as they are making so much more money on the currency than on underlying stocks. Second, it is putting additional pressure on the continuing industrial earnings downgrade cycle through offshore earnings translation and increased import competition. Optimal continue to believe that the key drivers of world equity pricing remain the gradient of the US economic recovery, the attitude of the Fed towards contingent monetary support, and whether China can slow (having raised lending rates again and lifted reserve requirements for the fourth time this year) without stumbling. Exposure at month end was 58.3% long, 40.2% short (including equity derivatives) for a gross exposure of 98.4 and net exposure of 18.1%. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
