4D Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund
31 March 2024
Key Facts
| Index Used: | S&P Global Infrastructure TR Index (AUD) | Discretionary/Quantitative: | Discretionary |
| Peer Group: | Infrastructure | FUM (millions): | AU$ 9.58m |
| Investment Style: | Blend | Fund Inception Date: | August 2017 |
| Geographic Mandate: | Global | Latest Return Date: | March 2024 |
| Investor Type: | Wholesale & Retail | Status: | Open |
| Minimum Investment: | AU$ 25,000 | Investment Frequency: | Daily |
Manager Details
The team has significant experience in global infrastructure, built around industry, sector, regional and company knowledge. Their varied backgrounds across sell side, buy side, portfolio management, equities research and strategy, debt, fund start-up, investment banking and consulting across both listed and unlisted infrastructure bring diverse thinking to the team's decision-making.
Strategy Description
The Fund's Investment Process involves four steps designed to give practical effect and application to the 4D investment objective.
The four steps are summarised below:
- defining the core investible universe;
- macro and strategic country risk assessment;
- detailed industry and fundamental company analysis, with stock valuation and quality assessed separately; and
- portfolio construction and monitoring adhering to 4D's regional, sector and stock guidelines.
4D's investment process analyses and values companies on an absolute basis with portfolio construction based on a relative risk reward of the individual companies compared to its emerging market infrastructure peers.
Infrastructure is defined to include regulated utilities in gas, electricity and water; transport infrastructure such as airports, ports, road and rail; as well as communication assets such as the towers and satellite sectors.
Fund Fees
| Management Fee: | 1.15% | Performance Fee: | 10.25% |
| Buy Spread: | 0.3% | Sell spread: | 0.3% |
| High Water Mark: | Yes | Hurdle: | OECD G20 Inflation Index + 8% p.a. |
Fund Structure
| Offshore/Onshore: | Onshore | Fund Structure: | Unit Trust |
| Share Classes: | AU$ | Trustee/RE: | Bennelong Funds Management |
| Administrator: | Citigroup | Prime Broker: | N/A |
| Custodian: | Citigroup | Legal: | N/A |
Ratings & Availability
Research Ratings
Platform Availability
Performance Review
The 4D Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund has a track record of 6 years and 8 months and has underperformed the S&P Global Infrastructure TR (AUD) benchmark since inception in August 2017, providing investors with an annualised return of 5% compared with the benchmark's return of 7.64% over the same period.
The Manager has delivered these returns with 2.94% more volatility than the benchmark, contributing to a Sharpe ratio which has fallen below 1 five times over the past five years and which currently sits at 0.3 since inception. The fund has provided positive monthly returns 73% of the time in rising markets and 24% of the time during periods of market decline, contributing to an up-capture ratio since inception of 77% and a down-capture ratio of 99%.
The 4D Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund rose by +0.73% in March, a difference of -3.75% compared with the S&P Global Infrastructure TR (AUD) benchmark which rose by +4.48%. Over the past 12 months, the fund's best monthly return was +5.14% compared with the benchmark's best return of +5.15%, and its worst monthly return was -5.34% vs the benchmark's worst return over the same period of -3.79%.
| Year | Jan % | Feb % | Mar % | Apr % | May % | Jun % | Jul % | Aug % | Sep % | Oct % | Nov % | Dec % | YTD % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | -1.40 | 3.01 | 0.73 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 2.32 |
| 2023 | 3.76 | 0.12 | 5.65 | 3.03 | -1.02 | 4.52 | 1.45 | -4.16 | -2.10 | -5.34 | 4.81 | 5.14 | 16.16 |
| 2022 | 5.70 | -2.85 | 6.54 | -0.26 | 5.33 | -4.61 | -2.10 | 3.61 | -4.40 | 4.05 | 2.44 | -1.13 | 12.02 |
| 2021 | -4.07 | -3.93 | 7.24 | -0.85 | 4.43 | 0.76 | -1.03 | 2.57 | -3.35 | -6.15 | 3.82 | 1.16 | -0.29 |
| 2020 | 0.44 | -2.02 | -22.16 | -0.83 | 2.83 | -1.09 | -1.45 | -4.92 | -1.41 | -0.37 | 13.32 | 2.46 | -17.43 |
| 2019 | 8.36 | 0.21 | -2.44 | 2.94 | 1.54 | 2.52 | 3.67 | -1.64 | 1.60 | 1.01 | -0.04 | 4.12 | 23.63 |
| 2018 | -0.19 | 0.21 | -0.39 | 0.10 | -8.13 | -1.07 | 4.30 | -1.77 | 2.16 | 5.46 | -3.09 | 5.47 | 2.27 |
| 2017 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0.19 | 0.11 | 1.72 | -0.31 | -1.80 | -0.13 |
Only seven years of data shown. Click here to view all data.
Annual Returns
Over the past 12 months, the fund has risen by +8.28% compared with the benchmark which has returned +6.59%, for a difference of +1.69%. Since inception in August 2017, the fund has returned +5% per annum, a difference of -2.64% relative to the benchmark which has returned +7.64% on an annualised basis over the same period.
Cumulative Returns
On a cumulative basis (assuming reinvestment of distributions), $100 invested since inception would have become $138. The same amount invested in the benchmark over the same period would have become $163.
Annual Returns %
Volatility and Risk
Annual Standard Deviation
The fund's returns over the past 12 months have been achieved with a volatility of 11.74% vs the index's 9.68%. The annualised volatility of the fund's returns since inception in August 2017 is 15.29% vs the index's 12.35%. Over all other periods, the fund's returns have been more volatile than the benchmark.
Sharpe Ratio
The fund's Sharpe ratio has ranged from a high of 0.7 for performance over the most recent 36 months to a low of 0.3 over the latest 60 months, and is 0.3 for performance since inception. By contrast, the S&P Global Infrastructure TR (AUD) Index's Sharpe for performance since August 2017 is 0.54.
Annual Standard Deviation
Sharpe Ratio
Performance in Positive Markets
Since inception in August 2017 in the months where the market was positive, the fund has provided positive returns 73% of the time, contributing to an up-capture ratio for returns since inception of 77.2%. Over all other periods, the fund's up-capture ratio has ranged from a high of 119.12% over the most recent 12 months to a low of 102.82% over the latest 60 months. An up-capture ratio greater than 100% indicates that, on average, the fund has outperformed in the market's positive months.
Performance in Negative Markets
Since inception in August 2017 in the months where the market was negative, the fund has provided positive returns 24% of the time, contributing to a down-capture ratio for returns since inception of 98.74%. Over all other periods, the fund's down-capture ratio has ranged from a high of 124.83% over the most recent 48 months to a low of 94.49% over the latest 24 months. A down-capture ratio less than 100% indicates that, on average, the fund has outperformed in the market's negative months.
Average Return in +ve Market %
Average Return in -ve Market %
Sortino Ratio
The fund's Sortino ratio (which excludes volatility in positive months) has ranged from a high of 1.03 for performance over the most recent 36 months to a low of 0.29 over the latest 60 months, and is 0.31 for performance since inception. By contrast, the S&P Global Infrastructure TR (AUD) Index's Sortino for performance since August 2017 is 0.64.
Drawdown
Over the past 12 months, the fund's largest drawdown was -11.19% vs the index's -8.26%, and since inception in August 2017 the fund's largest drawdown was -29.2% vs the index's maximum drawdown over the same period of -24.67%.
Sortino Ratio
Drawdown%
Quintile Ranking vs. Average Infrastructure as of March 2024
The performance of the 4D Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund ranked it in the second quintile for Total Return, Sharpe and Sortino over 3 years, while over 1 year the fund ranked in the first quintile for Total Return, Sharpe and Sortino.
Over the past 12 months, the fund has risen by +8.28% compared with the peer group which has returned an average of +3.87%, for a difference of +4.41%.
The fund's returns over the past 12 months have been achieved with a volatility of 11.74% vs the peer group's average volatility of 9.05%. The annualised volatility of the fund's returns since inception in August 2017 is 15.29% vs the peer group's 9.9%. Over all other periods, the fund's returns have been more volatile than the peer group.