NEWS
Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund
16 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund rose 0.58% in August.
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16 Sep 2016 - Alexander Credit Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund may also invest in derivatives for hedging purposes. The portfolio of the Fund comprises primarily Investment Grade holding of 75% of the Fund's assets. Benchmark allocations are Australasia 50% to 100%, North America 0% to 50% and Europe 0% to 50%. Currency hedging may take place depending on benefits to the Fund. |
| Manager Comments | Credit spreads continued to get tighter in August. The risk premium associated with subordinated bank credit rallied 30 basis points in the month which added to the 20 basis point tightening from the previous month. The Fund participated in two listed primary issues during the month being the ANZ tier 1 and the Qube deal. Both transactions were oversubscribed and are likely to perform well in secondary trading. For August, the majority of the portfolio was allocated in the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) at 50%, followed by Corporate Bonds/Loans at 23%. Click below to read the latest monthly report. |
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Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
16 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund returned -0.74% to take latest 6 months return to 13.42%.
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16 Sep 2016 - Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is managed as one portfolio but comprises and combines two separately managed exposures: 1. An investment in the top 20 stocks of the markets, which the Fund achieves by taking an indexed position in the S&P/ASX 20 Index; and 2. An investment in the stocks beyond the S&P/ASX 20 Index. This exposure is managed on an active basis using a fundamental core approach. The Fund may also invest in securities expected to be listed on the ASX, securities listed or expected to be listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities.Derivative instruments may be used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. The companies within the portfolio are primarily selected from, but not limited to, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. The Fund typically holds between 40-55 stocks and thus is considered to be highly concentrated. This means that investors should expect to see high short-term volatility. The Fund seeks to achieve growth over the long-term, therefore the minimum suggested investment timeframe is 5 years. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund outperformed the market's return of -1.55%, due to the ex-20 exposure within the Fund. Some of the largest positions held in the ex-20 fund were Domino's Pizza Enterprises, Ramsay Health Care, Star Entertainment Group, and Treasury Wine Estate. All these companies reported strong results and their shares responded accordingly. The August reporting season highlighted that the market continues to offer quite attractive opportunities. However, the reporting season also highlighted the need to be specific in one's investment in the market. Click below to read the latest Fund Report. |
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Signature Quantitative Fund
15 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Signature Quantitative Fund returned -0.5% in August.
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15 Sep 2016 - Signature Quantitative Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | SQF has been established to profit from anomalies surrounding event driven, behavioural & factor based structural market inefficiencies which generate significant profits and are uncorrelated & persistent over time. Specific strategies such as dividend arbitrage, index addition and deletion, tax year end, capital raisings, among other strategies are used by the Fund. The Fund's initial focus is on investing in Australian and New Zealand markets. |
| Manager Comments | Alpha Capture outperformed during the August reporting season as the positions were on the right side of company announcements. Capital Raisings underperformed slightly and SQF's market exposure also contributed to negative performance. The Fund had a gross exposure of 311% (Long 182% and Short -129%) and net exposure of 53%. Click the link below to view the latest Monthly report. |
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KIS Asia Long Short Fund
15 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
KIS Asia Long Short Fund rose 0.52% for the month of August taking the return for the most recent 12 months to 18.12% versus an S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index of 8.96% over the same period.
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15 Sep 2016 - KIS Asia Long Short Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Whilst the Fund's primary strategy is focused on long/short equities, the ability to retain discretionary powers to allocate across a number of other investment strategies is reserved. These strategies may include, but not be limited to: convertible bond investments, portfolio hedging, equity related arbitrage, special situations (e.g. merger arbitrage, rights offerings, participation in international public offerings and placements, etc.). The Fund's geographic focus is Asia excluding Japan, but including Australia). The Fund may invest outside of this region to the extent that: 1. The investment decision is driven from the Asian region or; 2. The exposure is intended to mitigate risk or enhance return from factors external to the Asian region. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's performance was driven largely by long positions in Altium Ltd (ALU.AX) 0.45% and short positions in Aurizon Holdings Ltd Ltd (AZJ.AX) 0.20% and Navitas Ltd (NVT.AX) 0.18%. Detractors for the month included long positions in Plymouth Minerals Ltd (PLH.AX) -0.27%, AHALife Holdings (AHL.AX) -0.23% and Actinogen Medical Ltd (ACW.AX) -0.17%. Click below to read the latest monthly Fund Report. |
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Cyan C3G Fund
14 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Cyan C3G Fund rose 1.60% in August, outperforming the market (ASX 200 Total Return Index) that fell -1.55%, by 3.15%.
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14 Sep 2016 - Cyan C3G Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Cyan C3G Fund is based on the investment philosophy which can be defined as a comprehensive, clear and considered process focused on delivering growth. These are identified through stringent filter criteria and a rigorous research process. The Manager uses a proprietary stock filter in order to eliminate a large proportion of investments due to both internal characteristics (such as gearing levels or cash flow) and external characteristics (such as exposure to commodity prices or customer concentration). Typically, the Fund looks for businesses that are one or more of: a) under researched, b) fundamentally undervalued, c) have a catalyst for re-rating. The Manager seeks to achieve this investment outcome by actively managing a portfolio of Australian listed securities. When the opportunity to invest in suitable securities cannot be found, the manager may reduce the level of equities exposure and accumulate a defensive cash position. Whilst it is the company's intention, there is no guarantee that any distributions or returns will be declared, or that if declared, the amount of any returns will remain constant or increase over time. The Fund does not invest in derivatives and does not use debt to leverage the Fund's performance. However, companies in which the Fund invests may be leveraged. |
| Manager Comments | Positive performers for the month included Afterpay (AFY), Bellamy's (BAL), Vita Group (VTG), Skydive The Beach, AMA Group, Nick Scali and PSC Insurance. One of the notable price movements on the back of poor results or negative outlook commentary included APN Outdoor (-35%). The Fund had minor exposure to APN Outdoor, which they sold immediately on the day the result was released. Currently, the Fund has a high cash balance accompanied by a well-diversified portfolio, which has exposure to the Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Financials, Industrials and Health Care sectors. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's Report. |
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Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
14 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund returned -1.02% in August to take annualised return since inception to 11.71% p.a.
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14 Sep 2016 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's discretionary investment strategy commences with a macro view of the economy and direction to establish the portfolio's desired market exposure. Following this detailed sector and company research is gathered from knowledge of the individual stocks in the Fund's universe, with widespread use of broker research. Company visits, presentations and discussions with management at CEO and CFO level are used wherever possible to assess management quality across a range of criteria. Detailed analysis of company valuations using financial statements and forecasts, particularly focusing on free cash flow, is conducted. Technical analysis is used to validate the Manager's fundamental research and valuations and to manage market timing. A significant portion of the Fund's overall performance can be attributed to the attention and importance given to the macro economic outlook and the ability and willingness to adjust the Fund's market risk. |
| Manager Comments | Long positions in Mineral Resources, Service Stream, and Scottish Pacific were the largest positive contributors, whilst Gateway Lifestyle, BWX, and AGL were the largest detractors from performance. Net equity market exposure (including derivatives) was decreased to 45.4% (57.6% long and 12.1% short). Click below to read the latest Fund Report. |
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APN Asian REIT Fund
13 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
APN Asian REIT Fund returned +0.06% in August, under-performing the Bloomberg Asia REIT Index which returned 0.98%, by 0.92%.
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13 Sep 2016 - APN Asian REIT Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Pete Morrissey and Corrine Ng are the Portfolio Managers of the Fund. Morrissey has over 15 years financial markets experience and joined APN in 2006. Previously, he worked at Lonsec and also managed an internationally focused private investment fund as well as spending several years as an analyst in the UK for Nomura, amongst others. He has also completed Masters level academic research papers on both commercial real estate cycles and global property cycles. Ng also has a strong background in property and REITs in Australia, Asia and the North American markets. Prior to joining APN, Ng worked for Aviva Investors (Senior Investment Analyst, North America Real Estate Securities Team) and Goldman Sachs & Co (Vice President, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Real Estate Securities Team) in New York. The Fund aims to deliver a competitive yield with lower risk than the market. The underlying stocks are selected based on a highly disciplined investment approach that focuses on the fundamentals and number of valuation approaches. The universe is expected to be dynamic as new IPO's, other corporate actions take place and / or corporate governance improvements at country or REIT level bring new stocks into focus. The Fund focuses on passive rental earnings derived from well managed Asian REITs listed in mature capital markets and will not invest in infrastructure, property development companies or stocks with a 'loose association with property'. The Fund provides access to a wide spread of property-based revenue streams that are specifically analysed, selected and weighted with the aim of delivering strong and sustainable income returns. The Fund is an unhedged product. The Fund is suited to medium to long term investors seeking a relatively high income and some capital growth over the long term. The manager has offered a special 50% reduction in management fee for all existing and new investors who apply by 30 June 2016. |
| Manager Comments | Over the last quarter (Apr-June 2016), the fund's largest component, Singapore REITs, returned 7.15%, Japan 9.95% and Hong Kong 18.65% (in AUD terms). In August, the portfolio's continued to have large exposure to Japan at 38.3%, and Singapore at 31.3%. The majority (66.6%) of the Fund was invested in the Retail REITs (40.1%) and the Office REITs (26.5%) sectors.The top five holdings comprised of over 21% of the portfolio with 4 holdings above 4% each. Click below to read the latest Fund's performance report. |
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Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
13 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Optimal Australia Absolute Trust recorded a flat net return in August in a weaker market, with the ASX 200 Index down 2.3%.
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13 Sep 2016 - 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 | A key influence on the Fund's performance during the month was the earnings reporting season. Some of the out-of-favour stocks (e.g. Woolworths) at or close to an earnings inflection point, and with low risk of disappointment, worked out well for the fund. In hedging portfolio risk, the Fund selectively short-sold some outperforming and high-multiple defensives, where the risk of an earnings miss was high, e.g. Realestate. At month-end, the Fund had gross exposure of 94% and net short exposure of 22%. The Fund continues to maintain a defensive focus. Click below to read the latest Fund monthly report. |
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Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2016
12 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
August Fund Review is now available on Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund which has an annualised return of 17.21% p.a.
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12 Sep 2016 - Fund Review: Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund August 2016
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - August 2016 (pdf format)
BENNELONG LONG SHORT EQUITY FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund.
- The Fund is a research driven, market and sector neutral, "pairs" trading strategy investing primarily in large large-caps from the ASX/S&P100 Index, with over fourteen-year track record and annualised returns of 17.21%.
- The consistent returns across the investment history indicate the Fund's ability to provide positive returns in volatile and negative markets and significantly outperform the broader market. The Fund's Sharpe Ratio and Sortino Ratio are 1.03 (Index 0.31) and 1.72 (Index 0.34) respectively.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - August 2016 (pdf format)
Pengana Global Small Companies Fund
12 Sep 2016 - Australian Fund Monitors
Pengana Global Small Companies Fund rose 3.3% in August 2016, compared to a 1.3% return for the MSCI AC World SMID Cap Index.
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12 Sep 2016 - Pengana Global Small Companies Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is managed by Founder & CIO Leah Zell, and Portfolio Managers Jon Moog and David Li. The Lizard investment team have over 50 years combined investment experience in global small cap investing. Leah Zell has over 30 years of experience and is a recognized expert in international investing in the international small-cap category. The Fund's investment team uses a value-oriented investment approach to small and mid-cap global equities that seeks to identify and invest in quality businesses that create significant value but are mispriced, overlooked or out-of-favour. The investment manager believes that unique opportunities exist due to limited available research, corporate actions or unfavourable investor perception. The portfolio construction process aims to develop portfolios that incorporate the best investment ideas from the investment manager's research while allowing for liquidity constraints and perceived risk. The Fund's investment manager will not typically hedge currency exposures, however during periods of currency extremes, some currency hedging may be employed. Derivatives may be used to achieve long or short exposures, reduce risk and reduce transaction costs. Derivatives will not be used for the purposes of leverage and the Fund's net exposure will never be short. |
| Manager Comments | The top positive contributors for the month were NetScout Systems Inc, Boohoo.com, Ubiquiti Networks, Hostelworld Group Plc, and China Lodging Group Ltd. However, Liberty Global Plc LiLAC Group, A UK IT Services company, Spirit Airlines Inc, Pico Far East Holdings Limited, and Moleskine SpA detracted from the performance. The Fund exited two positions during the month while adding to some of their current holdings. At month-end, the Fund's top 10 holdings accounted for 37.2% of the Fund's assets, with no single name representing more than 5% of the Fund. Cash represented 6.7% of the Fund. Click below to read the latest Fund Manager's report. |
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