To view the full Affluence Investment Fund Update – July 2017 in pdf format, click here.
The Affluence Investment Fund started the new financial year well, increasing by 0.7% to outperform both the ASX 200 (flat) and our benchmark. Since commencing in December 2014 the Fund has returned 9.6% per annum. Over that period the Fund has outperformed both the benchmark of 6.7% per annum (inflation plus 5%) and the ASX 200 (including dividends) of 7.3% 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 12.1% per annum.
From July we have increased the distribution rate to 5.4 cents per annum. This is a 3% increase over the previous distribution rate, and represents a 5.1% yield on the July unit price.
The strongest investments for the Fund during July were the Phoenix Opportunities Fund (up 3.7%), the Wentworth Williamson Fund (up 2.6%), and the India Avenue Equity Fund (up 2.5%). Negative contributors was the Harvest Lane Absolute Return Fund, Baker Steel Gold Fund, and the IML Concentrated Australian Share Fund.
We made one new investment during the month, and topped up on some existing positions. The new fund is the Perpetual Pure Credit Alpha Fund. We have found limited opportunities in the debt/fixed income sector, and we were surprised to find something so interesting in a large institution. This fund is essentially the Perpetual credit teams “best ideas fund”. They run a barbell strategy where at least 50% of the portfolio is held in high grade credit and the remainder is higher yielding opportunities where they see an appropriate risk reward trade off.
At month end, 60% of the Fund was invested in unlisted funds, 18% in the Affluence LIC Fund, 6% in other listed investments, and 16% 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 August. Units will be issued effective 1 September.
