Which boutique fund managers topped 2018?
Given 2018 was a rocky ride compared to the year before it, Money Management looked at the performance of boutique managers across 30 November 2017 to 30 November 2018 to see which funds topped the charts.
One of the top performing boutiques was Lincoln Australian Growth, which rose to the top quartile in that time period from the third across three years.
Across 2018 to 30 November, the fund returned 11.16 per cent, which given it aims to outperform the S&P ASX All Ordinaries index, which returned -1.13 per cent, is a pretty good effort.
Looking at the breakdown of the fund, it’s allocated its largest percentage of the portfolio to the money market (29.27 per cent), which suggests it’s cautious on the Australian equity market. Health care is allocated the next-largest portion of the portfolio at 18.57 per cent, followed by telecom, media and technology (18.20 per cent), basic materials (10.03 per cent) and financials (9.29 per cent).
DDH Selector Australian Equities was another top performer for that time period, also maintaining its top quartile position over ten, five and three years.
It returned 10.49 per cent for the 30 November 2017 to 30 November 2018 time period with top allocations to consumer products (28.42 per cent), telecom, media and tech (18.28 per cent), industrials (14.31 per cent), health care (13.65 per cent) and the money market (11.70 per cent).
Hyperion Australian Growth was another top boutique fund which placed in the top 10 funds of 2018, returning 4.68 per cent.
Its top 10 holdings include Seek (10.09 per cent), Macquarie Group (5.86 per cent), IRESS (3.62 per cent) and Domino’s (8.59 per cent).
Bennelong Australian Equities returned 3.64 per cent for 2018, which, while it was a drop from its performance in 2017 (10.17 per cent returns), was still a top quartile performance given the results of its peer group.
The chart below tracks the performance of the boutique funds from 30 November 2017 to 30 November 2018 as compared to the S&P ASX 300 and the Australian equity sector, to give an indication of how they fared against their peers and against the index.
Recommended for you
Perpetual has seen AUM rise 6 per cent in the last quarter but the departure of a longstanding JOHCM fund manager led to outflows of $2.2 billion from his strategy.
In the latest Meet the Manager profile, Money Management speaks with Michael Skinner, founder and managing director at Blackwattle Investment Partners.
Global fixed income fund Bentham Global Opportunities has been added to several major platforms, enabling it to be accessed more easily by financial advisers.
Following yesterday’s news about First Sentier Investors closing four investment teams, a second global asset manager has announced it is closing its only dedicated Australian fund.
