Annual Report 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund III Aperture New World Opportunities Fund Aperture Endeavour Equity Fund Aperture Discover Equity Fund Aperture International Equity Fund Annual Report December 31, 2020 Investment Adviser: Aperture Investors, LLC TABLE OF CONTENTS Shareholder Letters .............................................. 1 Schedules of Investments ......................................... 10 Aperture New World Opportunities Fund ............................ 10 Aperture Endeavour Equity Fund .................................. 39 Aperture Discover Equity Fund ................................... 50 Aperture International Equity Fund ................................ 55 Statements of Assets and Liabilities ................................. 61 Statements of Operations .......................................... 63 Statements of Changes in Net Assets ................................ 65 Financial Highlights ............................................... 73 Notes to Financial Statements ...................................... 81 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm ............... 112 Disclosure of Fund Expenses ...................................... 114 Trustee and Officers Table ......................................... 116 Renewal of Investment Advisory Agreement .......................... 120 Approval of Investment Advisory Agreement .......................... 124 Notice to Shareholders ............................................ 127 The Funds file their complete schedule of investments of Fund holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT (Form N-Q for filings prior to March 31, 2020). The Funds’ Forms N-Q and N-PORT are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. A description of the policies and procedures that the Funds use to determine how to vote proxies relating to fund securities, as well as information relating to how the Funds voted proxies relating to fund securities during the most recent 12- month period ended June 30, will be available (i) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-514-7557; and (ii) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. THE ADVISORS’ INNER CIRCLE FUND III APERTURE NEW WORLD OPPORTUNITIES FUND DECEMBER 31, 2020 (Unaudited) SHAREHOLDER LETTERS Dear Shareholder, The Aperture New World Opportunities Fund (the “Fund”) (Ticker: ANWOX) returned 3.60% in Q4, and 7.98% for the full year, outperforming its benchmark, the Bloomberg Barclays EM USD Aggregate 1-5 Year Total Return Index, by 3.45%. Looking at previous crises such as the 2008-09 crisis, the team played for governments to drop interest rates and provide stimulus, adding to risk positions in the spring and summer. Specifically, they increased high grade credit exposure early in the Middle East, to countries like Saudi Arabia, then added some high yield bonds in Central America after spreads widened. The investment team also took advantage of digital commerce companies accelerating their growth and stayed away from brick-and-mortar, legacy sectors that were effectively shut down by COVID. Finally, their strategic positioning in China also proved helpful in that the country experienced fewer COVID-related issues and grew by 2% in 2020. In retrospect, the team navigated 2020 pretty well, rotating through different sectors at different points amid the unprecedented pandemic. While the team was surprised by the swift spread of COVID and resulting lockdowns, the fund was not too badly hurt in the initial March meltdown and was able to play the recovery well for the remaining three quarters of 2020. It was important not to be overly exposed to high-risk assets in March before the meltdown, since large surprise drawdowns often make managers de-risk at the wrong time. In terms of the Fund’s alpha sources over the year, they were spread well across the Fund’s sub-strategies and over the course of the year. Single name credit positions in the fundamental sub-strategy generated 28% of the total outperformance with some winners specifically in Central America and Indonesia. China was the largest country contributor to return, followed by Brazil. The Relative Value sub-strategy added 35% of alpha largely through e-commerce and digitally focused business plays: companies like Meituanin China and Magazine Luiza and Mercado Libre in Latin America. Sincerely, Peter Marber Portfolio Manager There are risks involved with investing, including possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The information provided herein represents the opinion of the manager at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results nor investment advice. This material represents the manager’s assessment of the portfolio and market environment at a specific point in time and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Mutual fund investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. 1 THE ADVISORS’ INNER CIRCLE FUND III APERTURE ENDEAVOUR EQUITY FUND DECEMBER 31, 2020 (Unaudited) Dear Shareholder, The Aperture Endeavour Equity Fund (the “Fund”) (Ticker: ATOMX) finished 2020 with a return of 30.24%, outperforming its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Hedged USD Index, by 15.29%. The portfolio, which was rather concentrated, was formed by selecting a set of global companies the portfolio manager believed presented the most attractive investment opportunities across sectors and geographies. Sector weightings changed throughout the year but on balance the manager was overweight Consumer Discretionary and Technology-related companies, while underweight Healthcare. The portfolio manager tries to remain relatively balanced on a factor basis; the Value portion of the portfolio was a negative contributor in the first half of the year but was ultimately a positive contributor in the second half as the market gained more visibility on a possible end to COVID-related disruptions. This balanced approach showed throughout the year and supported fairly consistent month-by-month alpha generation. The Fund had a geographic overweight to China, while being equally weighted to the United States and Japan, and slightly underweight Europe versus the benchmark. This positioning was the result of bottom-up, company-specific analysis rather than an expression of a macro viewpoint. During the year, net equity exposure typically fluctuated between 80% and 100%, while remaining under the benchmark on average. Sincerely, Tom Tully Portfolio Manager There are risks involved with investing, including possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The information provided herein represents the opinion of the manager at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results nor investment advice. This material represents the manager’s assessment of the portfolio and market environment at a specific point in time and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Mutual fund investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. 2 THE ADVISORS’ INNER CIRCLE FUND III APERTURE DISCOVER EQUITY FUND DECEMBER 31, 2020 (Unaudited) Dear Shareholder, The Aperture Discover Equity Fund (the “Fund”) (Ticker: ADISX) returned 59.09% in 2020, outperforming the benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index1, by 39.03% net of fees. It was an extraordinary year for the US equity market, and a dramatic year of volatility for small cap equities. Only a few months after launching the Fund, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic 40%+2 peak-to-trough panic selloff for the Russell 2000. While the fund outperformed modestly in Q1, the silver lining of this extreme first quarter selloff (or any extreme market dislocation for that matter) is that it created rare opportunities to add to existing positions at compelling price levels and to establish new positions that formerly fell outside of the strategy’s defined market cap range or valuation discipline. The Discover Equity team’s selectivity and adherence to investment criteria enabled them to deliver broad-based outperformance across the portfolio and across industries. They had 16 companies appreciate by more than 50% and 8 companies more than double during their holding periods. Several of the companies in which they initiated investments pre-pandemic were already digitally advanced and gaining market share, but when lockdowns were put in place across many end markets, several of these tech forward holdings - across sectors - were well-positioned to grow, compounded by the internal, transformational growth drivers they prioritize within their research process. Over the spring and summer, the team continued to identify compelling ideas among companies and sectors that had been more dramatically impacted by COVID-19: the opposite end of the spectrum from the work-from-home beneficiaries so heavily covered in the media. While many of the companies they identified they felt posed very compelling multi-year risk-reward opportunities, they continued to experience significant