Outperforming when peers post negative returns
Being a top performer at a time when most of its peers posted negative returns was key for the Pendal Property Securities Fund to win the Australian Property Securities award at this year’s Money Management Fund Manager of the Year awards.
The judges found the fund had a strong team and a sound process that was well-managed by Peter Davidson, who they said was a property stalwart who was widely respected within the industry.
“The Pendal Australian property securities team is one of the most stable, long-serving and experienced teams within the sector and has strong investor-manager alignment of interest,” the judges said.
“The ‘bottom-up’ investment process has been proven over multiple investment cycles. Despite being a relatively benchmark aware strategy, the fund in 2020 once again was one of the top performers in a year when the majority of the competition posted negative returns.
“The manager has bettered its internal performance objective (over three-years) and recorded superior medium to long-term performance relative to both peer median and benchmark. In addition, the fee is one of the lowest.”
The fund’s factsheet said its investment philosophy was based on beliefs that market inefficiencies provided opportunities for well researched and disciplined investors to identify and purchase securities that were mispriced, quality companies would outperform over time, and active investment management would outperform passive alternatives over a full market cycle.
AMP Capital Listed Property Trusts fund received a ‘highly commended’ from the judges who said team’s early underweight to discretionary retail and overweight to industrial, funds management and other niche property sectors continued to keep the fund at the top of the performance tables.
AMP head of global listed real estate, James Maydew, said the fund had be to be nimble during 2020 and make early calls on setting its portfolio for the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, for the next 12 months, the property sector was poised for a renaissance year, he said.
“Also supporting the sector are very low interest rates, and an abundance of capital for acquisitions and developments,” Maydew said.
“More deal activity through initial public offerings, secondary stock issues and merger and acquisition activity should see a very exciting 2021, especially as ‘new’ alternative property sectors seek listing.”
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