NEWS
Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
28 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund rose +5.45% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.98% and taking 12-month performance to +42.03% vs the Index's +30.76%. Since inception in February 2009, the Fund...
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28 May 2021 - Performance Report: Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The overriding objective of the Concentrated Australian Equities Fund is to seek investment opportunities which are under-appreciated and have the potential to deliver positive earnings, while satisfying our stringent quality criteria. Bennelong's investment process combines bottom-up fundamental analysis together with proprietary investment tools which are used to build and maintain high quality portfolios that are risk aware. The portfolio typically consists of 20-35 high-conviction stocks from the S&P/ASX 300 Index. The Fund may invest in securities listed on other exchanges where such securities relate to ASX-listed securities. Derivative instruments are mainly used to replicate underlying positions and hedge market and company specific risks. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 0.97 and 1.42 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.62 and Sortino of 0.79, highlight its capacity to produce superior risk adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios (since inception), 151.55% and 91.58% respectively, indicate that, on average, it has significantly outperformed during the market's positive months while typically not falling further than the market during the market's negative months. The Fund has achieved up-capture ratios greater than 120% and down-capture ratios less than 100% over the past 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. The portfolio ended the month significantly overweight the Discretionary sector (Fund weight: 43.0%, benchmark weight: 8.0%) and underweight the Financials sector (Fund weight: 6.7%, benchmark weight: 29.2%). |
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Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund April 2021
27 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
Latest Fund Review on Insync Global Capital Aware Fund is now available. The Global Capital Aware Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend...
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27 May 2021 - Fund Review: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund April 2021
By: Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Fund Review - April 2021 (pdf format)
INSYNC GLOBAL CAPITAL AWARE FUND
Attached is our most recently updated Fund Review on the Insync Global Capital Aware Fund.
We would like to highlight the following:
- The Global Capital Aware Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of 15-30 stocks, targeting exceptional, large cap global companies with a strong focus on dividend growth and downside protection.
- Portfolio selection is driven by a core strategy of investing in companies with sustainable growth in dividends, high returns on capital, positive free cash flows and strong balance sheets.
- Emphasis on limiting downside risk is through extensive company research, the ability to hold cash and long protective index put options.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AFM Fund Review - April 2021 (pdf format)
Performance Report: Frazis Fund
27 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Frazis Fund rose +1.20% in April, taking 12-month performance to +133.80% vs AFM's Global Equity Index's +23.22%. Since inception in July 2018, the Fund has returned +29.41% p.a. vs the Index's +12.80%.
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27 May 2021 - Performance Report: Frazis Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The manager follows a disciplined, process-driven, and thematic strategy focused on five core investment strategies: 1) Growth stocks that are really value stocks; 2) Traditional deep value; 3) The life sciences; 4) Miners and drillers expanding production into supply deficits; 5) Global special situations; The manager uses a macro overlay to manage exposure, hedging in three ways: 1) Direct shorts 2) Upside exposure to the VIX index 3) Index optionality |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's up-capture ratio (since inception) of 237.1% indicates that, on average, it has returned more than twice as much as the market during the market's positive months. The Fund has achieved up-capture ratios over the past 12 and 24 months of 355.9% and 271.6% respectively. Frazis noted that there was a further sell-off in growth stocks that seems to have stabilised. Multiples are down approximately 50% from the start of the year, using estimates for 2021. They added that the latest fall was triggered by a US inflation print of 4%. Frazis believe that inflation is likely to benefit the Fund's companies as they all have extensive pricing power. Frazis' view is that, irrespective of the growth vs value debate, the value of the portfolio's companies will be driven by fundamentals as they increase their user base, gross profit dollars, and in the case of life sciences, bring additional treatment to market. |
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Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund
26 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Insync Global Capital Aware Fund rose +5.42% in April, outperforming AFM's Global Equity Index by +2.68% and taking 12-month performance to +17.82%. Since inception in October 2009, the Fund has returned +11.99% p.a. with an annualised...
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26 May 2021 - Performance Report: Insync Global Capital Aware Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Insync employs four simple screens to narrow the universe of over 40,000 listed companies globally to a focus group of high quality companies that it believes have the potential to consistently grow their profits and dividends. These screens are size of the company, balance sheet performance, valuation and dividend quality. Companies that pass this due diligence process are then valued using dividend discount models, free cash flow yield and proprietary implied growth and expected return models. The end result is a high conviction portfolio of typically 15-30 stocks. The principal investments will be in shares of companies listed on international stock exchanges (including the US, Europe and Asia). The Fund may also hold cash, derivatives (for example futures, options and swaps), currency contracts, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The Fund may also invest in various types of international pooled investment vehicles. At times, Insync may consider holding higher levels of cash if valuations are full and it is difficult to find attractive investment opportunities. When Insync believes markets to be overvalued, it may hold part of its resources in cash, or use derivatives as a way of reducing its equity exposure. Insync may use options, futures and other derivatives to reduce risk or gain exposure to underlying physical investments. The Fund may purchase put options on market indices or specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's capacity to protect investors' capital in falling and volatile markets is highlighted by the following statistics (since inception): Sortino ratio of 1.80 vs the Index's 1.45, maximum drawdown of -10.98% vs the Index's -13.59%, and down-capture ratio of 61.74%. At month-end, the portfolio's top 10 holdings included PayPal, Qorvo Inc, Domino's Pizza, Walt Disney, S&P Global, Nvidia, Facebook, Accenture, Visa and Qualcomm. The portfolio was most heavily weighted towards the 'Contactless Economy' and 'Workplace Automation' megatrends. By sector, the portfolio was significantly overweight the IT sector relative to the MSCI. |
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Performance Report: Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund
26 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund rose +6.95% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +3.48% and taking 12-month performance to +54.92% vs the Index's +30.76%. Since inception in October 2005, the Fund has...
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26 May 2021 - Performance Report: Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is comprised of a concentrated portfolio of securities outside the ASX100. The fund may invest up to 10% in global equities but for this portion typically only invests in New Zealand. Investments are primarily made in ASX listed and other exchange listed Australian securities, however, it may also invest up to 10% in unlisted Australian securities. The Fund is designed for investors seeking medium to long term capital growth who are prepared to accept fluctuations in short term returns. The suggested minimum investment time frame is 3 years. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 1.00 and 1.40 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.69 and Sortino of 0.83, highlight its capacity to produce superior risk adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios for performance over the past 12 months, 153% and -4.6% respectively, highlight its significant outperformance over that period in both the market's positive and negative months. Key positive contributors for the month were Mainstream (MAI +119.9%), Uniti Wireless (UWL +20.4%) and City Chic (CCX +17.6%). Key detractors were Redbubble (RBL -18.2%), Southern Cross Media (SXL - 9.9%) and Helloworld (HLO -13.0%). |
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Performance Report: Laureola Australia Feeder Fund
26 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Laureola Master Fund returned 0.37% for April and is now up 0.9% YTD. The Fund has risen +8.51% over the past 12 months with a volatility of 2.15%. Since inception in May 2013, the Fund has returned +15.76% p.a. with an annualised...
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26 May 2021 - Performance Report: Laureola Australia Feeder Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Life Settlements are resold life insurance policies and can be thought of as a form of finance extended to an individual backed by the person's life insurance policy. This financing is repaid upon maturity by collecting the death benefit from the insurance company. Risk mitigation measures implemented by Laureola include science-driven due diligence of policies, active monitoring of insured through a vertically integrated operation, and investor aligned fund design. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 2.43 and 7.37 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.99 and Sortino of 1.49, highlight its capacity to produce superior risk adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund's non-correlated nature is demonstrated by its consistently low down-capture ratios over all time periods. Its down-capture ratio since inception is -37.45%. A negative down-capture ratio indicates that, on average, the Fund has risen during the market's negative months. The Fund's capacity to protect investors capital is further highlighted by its maximum drawdown (since inception) of -4.90% vs the Index's -12.35% over the same period. The Fund has outperformed the Index in all 10 of the Index's 10 worst months since the Fund's inception. The April performance was due to the maturity of 3 small policies. Laureola emphasised in their latest report that the Fund has protected investors against inflation, even on an after-tax basis. They added that inflation can have negative effects on both traditional asset classes and on the real economy, especially at the end of the credit cycle. Laureola believe that under this scenario, the genuine non-correlated nature of the returns of the Fund will become valuable, as returns that depend on mortality will not be affected by slowdowns in the economy or by upheavals in the stock, bond, or currency markets. The Fund now holds 183 policies with a total face value of $131.8 ml. 35% of the insureds have LEs of 48 mos. or less, indicating that the Fund will continue to experience strong internally generated cash flow and a high level of realised gains. |
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Performance Report: Premium Asia Fund
26 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Premium Asia Fund rose +3.78% in April, taking 12-month performance to +45.68% vs AFM's Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index's +26.14%. Since inception in December 2009, the Fund has returned +13.03% p.a. vs the Index's +6.76%.
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26 May 2021 - Performance Report: Premium Asia Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is managed by Value Partners using a disciplined value-oriented approach supported by intensive, on-the-ground bottom-up fundamental research resulting in a portfolio of individual holdings, which are, in the view of Value Partners, undervalued and of high quality, on either an absolute or relative basis, and which have the potential for capital appreciation. The Fund will primarily have exposure to the equity securities of entities listed on securities exchanges across the Asia (ex-Japan) region, however, the Fund may also gain exposure to entities listed on securities outside the Asia (ex-Japan) region which have significant assets, investments, production activities, trading or other business interests in the Asia (ex-Japan) region as well as unlisted instruments with equity-like characteristics, such as participatory notes and convertible bonds. The Fund may also invest in cash and money market instruments, depositary receipts, listed unit trusts, shares in mutual fund corporations and other collective investment schemes (including real estate investment trusts), derivatives including both exchange-traded and OTC, convertible securities, participatory notes, bonds, and foreign exchange contracts. |
| Manager Comments | South Korean and Taiwanese information technology names were among the top performance contributors in the Fund last month, as global demand for technology products remains strong. Financials also gained, particularly a South Korean financial holding company, which became the top performance contributor. Its share price was boosted by the company's plan to list its mobile retail banking service subsidiary. The Chinese shipping companies sustained their strong momentum in April. A slight detraction came from some of the Fund's exposure in the China consumer discretionary names as sentiment was muted. However, Premium's outlook remains positive on some of these names, as they believe they will be beneficiaries of the expected ongoing economic recovery. Premium continue to be overweight in North Asia, as the market continues to provide better risk-reward opportunities relative to other parts of Asia, which are still working their way out of the pandemic. They noted that, while market fundamentals in China remain unchanged, more catalysts, particularly earnings, are needed to drive up positive sentiment. The manager's bottom-up approach suggests corporate fundamentals remain solid, and they continue to prefer companies with visibility in their earnings. |
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Performance Report: Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund
25 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund rose +5.32% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +1.85% and taking 12-month performance to +46.40% vs the Index's +30.76%. Since inception in November 2009, the Fund has...
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25 May 2021 - Performance Report: 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's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 0.70 and 0.89 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.48 and Sortino of 0.57, highlight its capacity to produce superior risk adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios (since inception), 126.05% and 96.33% respectively, indicate that, on average, it has significantly outperformed during the market's positive months while typically not falling further than the market during the market's negative months. The Fund has achieved up-capture ratios greater than 120% over the past 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. The portfolio is significantly overweight the Discretionary sector relative to the ASX300. The sector makes up 31.5% of the portfolio but only 8.0% of the Index. Together with positions in the top 20 stocks, the Fund is selectively invested in a group of high quality growth stocks. This provides the opportunity for the Fund to outperform over time. As a diversified group of stocks, Bennelong believe the Fund is well set up to provide enhanced index returns. |
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Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
25 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Glenmore Australian Equities Fund rose +7.05% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +3.58% and taking 12-month performance to +58.27% vs the Index's +30.76%. Since inception in June 2017, the Fund has returned...
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25 May 2021 - Performance Report: Glenmore Australian Equities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The main driver of identifying potential investments will be bottom up company analysis, however macro-economic conditions will be considered as part of the investment thesis for each stock. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 0.98 and 1.18 respectively, by contrast with the Index's Sharpe of 0.60 and Sortino of 0.67, highlight its capacity to produce superior risk adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund's up-capture ratio (since inception) of 204% indicates that, on average, is has risen twice as much as the market during the market's positive months. The Fund has achieved up-capture ratios greater than 150% over the past 12, 24 and 36 months. Top contributors in April included Mineral Resources, People Infrastructure, Uniti Wireless, Pinnacle Investment Management and Eagers Automotive. Key detractors included Coronado Global Resources and Whitehaven Coal. Glenmore believe that the main risk to the global economy continues to be inflation, with the prices of most industrial commodities having increased substantially over the past 12 months. They noted many companies are reporting cost pressures which are likely to drive price increases for a range of goods and services. |
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Performance Report: Montgomery Small Companies Fund
24 May 2021 - Australian Fund Monitors
The Montgomery Small Companies Fund rose +7.37% in April, outperforming the ASX200 Accumulation Index by +3.9% and taking 12-month performance to +51.82% vs the Index's +30.76%. Since inception in October 2019, the Fund has returned...
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24 May 2021 - Performance Report: Montgomery Small Companies Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | Montgomery Lucent, a joint venture between Lucent Capital Partners and Montgomery Investment Management, is the investment manager of the Fund. Lucent Capital Partners is owned by its founders Gary Rollo and Dominic Rose. Gary and Dominic have worked together for three years as at February 2020 and have a combined three decades of portfolio management and equities research experience. The manager is able to invest up to 10% of the portfolio in pre-IPO opportunities. They search for companies likely to benefit from secular trends, industry change and with substantial competitive advantages. Cash typically ranges around 10%. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund's Sharpe and Sortino ratios (since inception), 0.94 and 1.33 respectively, highlight its capacity to produce superior risk adjusted returns while avoiding the market's downside volatility. The Fund's up-capture and down-capture ratios (since inception), 154.21% and 88.65% respectively, indicate that, the Fund has typically outperformed in both the market's positive and negative months. The largest positive contributors for April included City Chic Collective (ASX:CCX), Orocobre (ASX:ORE) and Uniti Group (ASX:UWL). The largest detractors from performance included Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD), Seven Group Holdings (ASX:SVW) and Webjet (ASX:WEB). Montgomery's view is that the medium-term outlook includes a period where investors get good visibility of what a recovery looks like as the combination of vaccine rollout progress in Western Economies (specifically US and UK) and a move into Northern Hemisphere summer brings the conditions of rising economic activity and recovery. They hope to witness this via the market share taking power of some of the key investee companies in the portfolio. |
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