Ausbil Australian Geared Equity Fund (ARSN 124 196 407) (Fund)
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Contactus@ ausbil.com.au Ausbil Investment Management Limited Ausbil Australian Geared ABN 26 076 316 473 AFSL 229722 Level 27 Equity Fund 225 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Monthly performance update GPO Box 2525 Sydney NSW 2001 Phone 61 2 9259 0200 October 2020 Fax 61 2 9259 0222 ‘The US market has rallied around the election, Fund Characteristics seemingly unperturbed by a grind to victory by Returns1 as at 31 October 2020 either candidate’ Period Fund Bench- Out/Under Return mark2 performance Performance Review % % % 1 month 5.00 1.89 3.11 Fund performance for October 2020 was +5.00% (net of fees) versus 3 months 5.43 1.22 4.21 the benchmark return of +1.89%, as measured by the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. 6 months 24.37 9.09 15.29 At a sector level, the Fund’s overweight positions in the Financials and FYTD 8.66 1.83 6.83 Information Technology sectors contributed to relative performance. The CYTD -30.43 -8.91 -21.53 underweight exposures to the Consumer Discretionary, Communication 1 year -30.20 -7.91 -22.28 Services, Utilities and Real Estate sectors also added value. Conversely, 3 years pa -0.72 4.22 -4.95 the overweight positions in the Materials, Industrials and Health Care 5 years pa 7.27 6.89 0.38 sectors detracted from relative performance. The underweight positions 7 years pa 5.22 5.68 -0.46 in Energy and Consumer Staples also detracted value. 10 years pa 7.61 6.86 0.76 At a stock level, the overweight positions in Afterpay, Lynas, BlueScope Since inception pa 0.21 3.93 -3.73 Steel, Lendlease, Galaxy Resources, OZ Minerals, National Australia Date: May 2007 Bank and Northern Star Resources contributed to relative performance. The nil positions in Newcrest Mining and Brambles also added value in Top 10 Stock Holdings October. Conversely, the overweight positions in BHP, Aristocrat Leisure, QBE Insurance, Ramsay Health Care, Santos, Sydney Airport and Name Fund Index2 Tilt Webjet detracted from relative performance. The nil holdings in Coca- % % % Cola Amatil, Fortescue Metals and ResMed also detracted value. CSL 19.59 7.65 11.93 BHP 17.18 5.83 11.35 Market Review Commonwealth Bank 16.54 7.16 9.38 The Australian equity market return in October of +1.9% (as measured by National Australia Bank 12.24 3.59 8.65 the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index) underperformed Emerging Market Afterpay 8.84 1.30 7.54 (MSCI EM: +2.1%) equities, but outperformed Developed Market (MSCI World: -3.1%) equities. Macquarie Group 8.53 2.52 6.01 ANZ Bank 7.97 3.13 4.84 Domestically, significant M&A activity in the mid-cap equities space helped this sector post stellar gains for the month (S&P/ASX MidCap 50: Westpac Bank 7.94 3.79 4.15 +6.1%), outperforming a still solid return by large-cap equities (S&P/ASX Qantas 7.32 0.46 6.85 20 Accumulation Index: +2.0%), while small-cap equities slowed a modest Aristocrat Leisure 7.28 1.07 6.20 positive rise (S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index: +0.5%) Outlook Sector Tilts As US polls closed on 3 November, the US market rallied both the day Sector Fund Index2 Tilt of the election and the day after, seemingly unperturbed by a grind to % % % victory by either candidate. With Biden eventually passing the minimum Energy 6.06 3.20 2.86 270 electoral colleges required to take the presidency and declaring victory, Materials 49.76 19.36 30.40 there remained some expected legal challenges, with President Trump yet Industrials 20.68 7.84 12.83 to concede the election. Congress has remained with the Democrats, and Consumer Discretionary 9.58 8.18 1.40 the Senate, with no clear winner at this point, will undergo deciding run-off Consumer Staples 5.82 6.44 -0.62 elections in January. Health Care 30.04 12.05 17.98 Looking through the election noise to what matters, Biden brings new Financials 59.56 26.38 33.18 investment opportunities, particularly in renewable energies, hope for Information Technology 13.76 5.33 8.43 additional stimulus, and a steadier hand both domestically and in foreign policy, but this is tinged with the risk of potential corporate tax changes Communication Services 0.00 2.52 -2.52 that could drag on US earnings if implemented. If the Republicans secure a Utilities 0.00 1.60 -1.60 majority in the senate, the risk of major adverse corporate tax changes falls Real Estate 14.54 7.08 7.46 away. If the Democrats secure both houses, the risks rise significantly with Cash -109.79 0.00 -109.79 respect to earnings growth and rising taxes in corporate America. As always, Total 100.00 100.00 0.00 Ausbil maintains an active watching brief on these macro developments. 1. Fund returns are net of fees but before taxes. Our house view remains for a U-shaped recovery, which should strengthen 2. The benchmark S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. into 2021. On earnings, we expect FY 2022 to be the first full year of normalised earnings, with FY 2021 straddling the economic recovery. If a vaccine becomes available in the meantime, we expect this recovery outlook to accelerate. 1 Ausbil Investment Management Limited Level 27 225 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Toll Free 1800 287 245 Unless otherwise specified, any information contained in this publication is current as at the date of this report and is prepared by Ausbil Investment Management Limited (ABN 26 076 316 473 AFSL 229722) (Ausbil). Ausbil is the issuer of the Ausbil Australian Geared Equity Fund (ARSN 124 196 407) (Fund). This report contains general information only and the information provided is factual only and does not constitute financial product advice. It does not take account of your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on it, you should seek independent financial and tax advice about its appropriateness to your objectives, financial situation and needs. Securities and sectors mentioned in this monthly report are presented to illustrate companies and sectors in which the Fund has invested and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any particular security. Holdings are subject to change daily. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Unless otherwise stated, performance figures are calculated net of fees and assume distributions are reinvested. Due to rounding the figures in the holdings, breakdowns may not add up to 100. No guarantee or warranty is made as to the accuracy, adequacy or reliability of any statements, estimates, opinions or other information contained herein (any of which may change without notice) and should not be relied upon as a representation express or implied as to any future or current matter. You should consider the Product Disclosure Statement which is available at www.ausbil.com.au before acquiring or investing in the fund. Source: MSCI. The MSCI information may only be used for your internal use, may not be reproduced or disseminated in any form and may not be used as a basis for or a component of any financial instruments or products or indices. None of the MSCI information is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such. Historical data and analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance analysis, forecast or prediction. The MSCI information is provided on an “as is” basis and the user of this information assumes the entire risk of any use made of this information. MSCI, each of its affiliates and each other person involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating any MSCI information (collectively, the “MSCI Parties”) expressly disclaims all warranties (including, without limitation, any warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, non-infringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose) with respect to this information. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any MSCI Party have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive, consequential (including, without limitation, lost profits) or any other damages. Further information is available at www.msci.com. A short notice on the COVID-19 public health event, and how it can impact investments Given the currently evolving issues around the Coronavirus (or Covid-19) globally, which has officially been designated a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, we wish to notify that, as with many firms, business may be disrupted. A public health crisis, pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of a contagious disease, such as the recent outbreak of Coronavirus (or Covid-19) in Australia, Italy, China, South Korea, the United States and other countries, could have an adverse impact on global, national and local economies, which in turn could negatively impact investment returns in any of Ausbil Investment Management Limited’s registered managed investment schemes (the Funds). Disruptions to commercial activity relating to the imposition of quarantines or travel restrictions (or more generally, an inability on behalf of authorities to contain this pandemic) may adversely impact any investment, including by delaying or causing supply chain disruptions or by causing staffing shortages. The outbreak of Coronavirus has contributed to, and may continue to contribute to, volatility in financial markets. The impact of a public health crisis such as the Coronavirus (or any future pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of a contagious disease) is difficult to predict, which presents material uncertainty and risk with respect to any investment or fund performance.