To view the full Affluence Investment Fund Update – August 2017 in pdf format, click here.
The Affluence Investment Fund recorded a small gain in August, increasing by 0.1%. Since commencing in December 2014 the Fund has returned 9.3% per annum. Over that period the Fund has outperformed both our benchmark of 6.6% per annum (inflation plus 5%) and the ASX 200 (including dividends) of 7.4% per annum. Volatility of returns continues to be low, with the Fund’s volatility only 3.0% per annum, compared to the ASX 200 of 11.9% per annum.
The strongest investments for the Fund during August was the Paragon Australian Long Short Fund (up 7.3%), the Totus Capital Alpha Fund (up 4.4%), and the Sandon Capital Activist Fund (up 3.9%). Negative contributors were the Wentworth Williamson Fund, LHC Capital Australian High Conviction Fund, and the Microequities Deep Value Microcap Fund.
We exited one of our investments towards the end of the month, the Paragon Australian Long Short Fund. After four and a half years together, the two co-portfolio managers decided to go their separate ways. One of our beliefs at Affluence is that we invest with the individuals managing the money, not with the company or a process. Therefore our default position when there is a significant manager personnel change is to redeem our investment. We were happy with the fund, and will continue to monitor it under the new management team (one of the portfolio managers is taking full control) and may re-invest in the future once the dust settles and we can re-assess. We made two new investments during the month, the Antipodes Global Fund and the EGP Concentrated Value Fund. We are particularly pleased to be part of the EGP Concentrated Value Fund. This manager has many of the attributes we admire; a very limited FUM capacity, performance fee only structure, value investor, and a very likeable and humble portfolio manager. We expect they will be cautious and patient deploying capital, but over the medium to long term we believe they can deliver strong results.
At month end, 65% of the Fund was invested in unlisted funds, 17% in the Affluence LIC Fund, 7% in other listed investments, and 11% in cash. If you’d like further details of the investment portfolio, including our top holdings and weightings, register on our website as an Affluence Member and follow the link to the Members Area to view the portfolio.
If you would like to invest with us and get access to a diverse range of Australia’s best fund managers, including over 25 unlisted funds as well as more than 20 LIC’s and other listed entities, visit the fund page on our website at https://affluencefunds.com.au/aif/ to find out more. There, you can get information on the Fund, apply online or download the application pack. If you’d like to add to your existing investment in the Fund, you can either complete the one-page form available on our website, or use the online facility.
The cut-off for this month’s applications is 25th September. Units will be issued effective 1st October.
