Concentration of managers evident in Lonsec’s 2011 Global Long/Short Sector Review
Lonsec’s review of the Global Equity Long/Short sector encompassed 15 funds now allocated into two categories – Global (11 funds) and regional Asia (four funds). Of these two global products were awarded ‘Highly Recommended’ – the Five Oceans World Fund and Platinum International Fund. One Asian long/short product received a Highly Recommended rating – the Platinum Asia Fund.
Rui Fernandes, Senior Investment Analyst who led this review commented, “The number of funds reviewed in this sector is a reflection of the limited options available to Australian investors when compared to global long only funds (Lonsec researches 36 of these).”
“When comparing the long/short global and Australian sectors, a clear concentration in the number of underlying investment managers is evident.”
Platinum Asset Management, which dominates this space (by AUM and breadth of product range), is a significant factor in this outcome – Lonsec currently researches six products managed by this firm.
“Another interesting observation from this sector review is the domination of ‘home grown’ investment managers,” said Fernandes.
“Out of the eight underlying investment managers across the Global and Asian sub-sectors, five of these are Australian businesses with most having their investment operations in Sydney.”
“This contrasts with long-only Global and Asian equity funds where multi-city located investment teams are common and solely an Australian presence a rarity.”
