Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity Fund a Sub-Fund of Alma Capital Investment Funds SICAV
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FOR PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity Fund A sub-fund of Alma Capital Investment Funds SICAV As of 31 March 2020 Eikoh Fund description • Investment objective: seek long-term capital growth by investing generally in Japanese large cap stocks (with market capitalisation in excess of US$ 1bn) • Investment process: analyse long term company fundamentals through extensive in-house bottom up research with a strong risk management ethos • Portfolio of around 25-30 companies which are well managed, profitable and with good prospects. Portfolio managers believe that Cash Flow Return on Investment and value creation are key Investment manager: ACIM (Alma Capital Investment Management) • Alma Capital Investment Management is a Luxembourg based asset management company and holds a branch office in London • ACIM manages assets of $4bn and is regulated by the Luxembourg regulator the CSSF • The portfolio managers, led by James Pulsford, worked together at Eikoh Research Investment Management managing the portfolio before joining ACIM in January 2020 • Naohiko Saida based in Tokyo at Milestone Asset Management provides a dedicated research service to the team at ACIM, Naohiko and James have worked together for the last twenty years Cumulative performance (%) 1 M 3 M 6 M YTD 1Y 3Y ITD ITD (annualized) I GBP Hedged C shares -11.76 -20.99 -13.03 -20.99 -2.38 -0.33 47.40 6.91 I GBP C shares -7.05 -15.14 -12.80 -15.14 6.39 3.99 - - I EUR Hedged C shares -11.94 -21.46 -13.42 -21.46 -3.31 -3.02 - - I JPY C shares -11.28 -20.69 -12.20 -20.69 -1.46 0.28 - - I EUR C shares -10.76 -18.65 -13.08 -18.65 2.95 - - - I EUR D shares -10.79 -18.68 -13.11 -18.68 2.79 - - - I USD Hedged C shares -12.21 -21.26 -12.49 -21.26 -0.58 5.03 53.11 7.61 Topix (TR) -5.99 -17.45 -10.37 -17.45 -9.50 -0.43 29.23 4.52 Fund launched on 12 June 2014 (I USD Hedged C and I GBP Hedged C shares) Portfolio characteristics Performance (Indexed - Base 100) Main indicators Fund Index Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity Fund Topix TR No. of securities 27 2158 210 Weighted Average Market Cap (¥ bn) 3 755 3 265 Median Market Cap (¥ bn) 1 723 37 Dividend Yield (%) 2.4 2.7 Historical Price / Earnings (x) 13.3 13.3 190 Historical Price / Cashflow (x) 6.8 6.6 Historical Price / Book (x) 1.1 1.0 Volatility since inception (%) 22.1 20.0 Annualized Sharpe ratio since inception 0.3 0.2 170 Active share (%) 82.4 - Beta since inception 1.06 - Tracking error since inception (%) 6.1 - 150 Annualized Information ratio since inception0.5 - Sector breakdown (% AUM) 130 Cash & Other 0.0 3.1 110 1.8 Utilities 0.0 Materials 5.7 1.4 90 Communication 9.4 Services 11.1 21.7 Industrials 6.4 Top 10 positions details 9.7 Consumer Staples 5.7 0.7 Security name Sector % AUM Energy 0.0 FUJITSU LTD Information Technology 5.68 NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE Communication Services 5.39 Real Estate 2.6 5.0 TOYOTA MOTOR CORP Consumer Discretionary 5.24 MITSUI FUDOSAN CO LTD Real Estate 4.95 Financials 9.6 8.3 MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GRO Financials 4.70 Information Technology 11.6 SONY CORP Consumer Discretionary 4.63 29.9 KEISEI ELECTRIC RAILWAY CO Industrials 4.29 Consumer 16.9 DAIICHI SANKYO CO LTD Health Care 4.29 15.3 Discretionary SCREEN HOLDINGS CO LTD Information Technology 4.21 Health Care 10.1 HITACHI LTD Information Technology 4.16 13.9 TOTAL: 47.54 Topix Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity Fund Page 1 of 2 Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity Fund A sub-fund of Alma Capital Investment Funds SICAV Eikoh Investment manager's commentary Market Review and Outlook The market fell a further -6.0% in March, as investors reacted to the rapid global spread of COVID-19 and the dramatic impact on economic activity caused by the measures being taken worldwide to restrict the spread of the virus, including the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. The market fell very sharply during the first half of the month but showed a partial recovery in the second half reflecting support measures announced by central banks and governments around the globe. Foreign investors were again heavy sellers of the market amounting to Y3.4trn over the month bringing the total for Q1 to Y6.4trn. The market decline was led by cyclical sectors with mining, steel, shipping, real estate and banks al weak while more defensive areas such as utilities, foods and pharmaceuticals performed well. The oil price collapsed from $50 to $23 on slumping demand and a breakdown in constructive relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia. While the Yen closed little changed against the dollar at 107.5 it was highly volatile over the period trading below 102.0 at one point. Many of the economic statistics announced in the period reflect conditions in February and have little relevance reflecting the recent dramatic ongoing change in global economic circumstances. The BOJ March Tankan survey captures some of the recent change however with the large manufacturers DI falling from 0 to -8 and the outlook slipping to -11 while non-manufacturers fell from +20 to +8 with an outlook of -1. The Economy Watchers Survey for March also showed a sharp fall with current conditions at 15.9 compared to 27.4 and 40.6 respectively in the previous two months. The sharp slowdown being witnessed in Japan is broadly mirrored by slumping global activity, however China is an outlier and having successfully contained the spread of the virus is now benefiting from a relaxation of control measures; the Chinese Composite PMI for March recovered from 28.9 to 53.0. While the negative economic impact of the measures being taken globally to control the spread of the virus is dramatic, this is being met with very aggressive stimulus policies designed to support demand through the crisis. Central banks led the way, announcing substantial increases in the balance sheet commitments, and governments have followed this with huge fiscal stimulus packages. The G4 plus Chinese fiscal stimulus is now expected to be $3.2trn in 2020. Japan is following this path and alongside a partial “lockdown” of greater Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka has announced Y39trn in support measures, including Y300,000 in payments to affected households. This is part of a headline stimulus package of Y108trn though the “real water” impact of this will be considerably smaller. We retain our view that while the probability of systemic crisis appears small, that of a sharp contraction in economic activity will be impossible to avoid despite the best efforts of governments and central banks around the world. While the fund entered the crisis with a clear procyclical positioning we have aggressively restructured the portfolio over the last two months to ensure that the fund constituents are in a good position to weather the economic shock of COVID-19 but offer the potential for growth and capital appreciation once the disruption caused by the virus eases. We believe that the crisis will accelerate the secular shift of the economy to ‘on-line’ and that technology investment will follow this. We have chosen to maintain and build exposure to SPE, software & services and technology geared to 5G but sharply cut exposure to more general economically sensitive stocks and used cash raised to add to stocks in less economically sensitive areas, such as gaming and food & staples retailing, where valuations and prospects for growth look attractive. At the end of March the fund’s significant sector bets in declining order of magnitude are overweight semiconductors, software, technology hardware, media & entertainment, and real estate, while the fund is underweight capital goods, materials, household & personal products, commercial services and insurance. After the sharp decline so far this year, the valuation of the market looks low on a PBR of 1.00x, prospective PER of 12.3x and dividend yield of 2.66%. Looking through the crisis, prospects for the Japanese market and the fund look strong. Japanese companies start from a position of financial strength to weather this shock and Abe and Kuroda have taken the right choices so far to support the economy. We believe that the companies within the portfolio are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that the next year or two will bring. Fund The Fund declined by 11.28% (I JPY C share class) in March, sharply underperforming the Topix which declined by 5.99% (dividends reinvested). The Fund underperformed Topix during the month with stock selection the greater contributor though sector allocation was also a negative factor. Value was lost by being overweight semiconductors, underweight household & personal products and underweight food & staples retailing while the underweight position in capital goods added value. Stock selection was negative in capital goods, technology hardware, transportation, banks, healthcare equipment and real estate. It was positive in materials, media & entertainment and telecommunications. At the stock level the largest negative contributor was the SPE firm Screen Holdings, followed by Mitsui Real Estate, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Orix, Yamaha Motor, TDK and Recruit. Significant positive contributors were the pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo, Nintendo and NTT. The majority of stock moves over the period were not in response to specific company news but rather to potential changes in the virus afflicted economic environment and also trading flows.