First Sentier launches long short small-cap fund
First Sentier Investors has launched the Australian Small Companies Long Short Opportunities fund.
The fund aimed to implement a strategy that would deliver consistent, absolute return through all types of investment cycle and had been running for institutional clients since October 2008.
Capital preservation was a key part of the fund’s philosophy which lent itself to identifying short opportunities in the market.
Having this ability to short sell stocks meant the fund had the potential to generate positive returns from companies that were expected to decrease in value.
Dawn Kanelleas, head of Australian small and mid-cap companies, said: “As small companies flourish, revenue and earnings growth have the potential to expand at their fastest rate in the company’s lifecycle – growth that larger, more mature companies can find difficult to replicate from a higher base.
“Just as some companies will become large, successful businesses, other companies will flounder, or fall victim to unfavourable market conditions or poor management decisions. Our Long Short strategy has the flexibility to take short positions in those companies for the benefit of the portfolio,” Kanelleas said.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
The merger with L1 Capital will “inject new life” into Platinum, Morningstar believes, but is unlikely to boost Platinum’s declining funds under management.
More than half of the top 20 most popular shares bought by advised investors during the first half of 2025 were ETFs, according to AUSIEX data.
At least two-thirds of ETF flows are understood to be driven by intermediaries, according to Global X, as net flows into Australian ETFs spike 97 per cent in the first half of 2025.
Inflows for the first half of 2025 for GQG Partners stand at US$8 billion, but the firm has flagged fund underperformance could be a headwind for future flows.
