Investment manager to continue focus on quality growth stocks
Australian and New Zealand-focused equities manager WaveStone Capital has launched the
WaveStone Wholesale Australian Share Fund, a long-only fund designed to capture increasing
demand for quality and growth-styled portfolios.
Established in 2006 by three majority-owned principals – Ian Harding, Graeme Burke and Catherine
Allfrey – WaveStone Capital adopts an active, bottom-up investment approach with the new fund
aiming to outperform the S&P/ ASX 300 Accumulation Index over rolling three-year periods.
According to Ms Allfrey, the launch of the new style product into the institutional investment market
will be driven by WaveStone Capital’s attraction to innovative and high-growth stocks at reasonable
prices.
“Over the past 15 years, the principals have refined the investment philosophy via the establishment
of the WaveStone Absolute Return Fund then the Dynamic Australian Equity Fund – to great success,
and the same approach will now be applied to our new long-only fund,” she said.
WaveStone Capital implements a 15-factor quality regimen when assessing appropriate stocks to
identify businesses which exhibit a sustainable competitive advantage; operate in favourable industry
dynamics; and have potential to deliver above market earnings growth.
“We differentiate ourselves by adopting a resolute commitment to quality growth stocks – we apply
quality filters, together with growth and valuation tests before overlaying that assessment with risk
controls to construct higher conviction portfolios,” she said.
WaveStone has been managing a long-only mandate since 2007 under consistent investment
principles. Before fees, this portfolio has delivered 8.2% p.a. for the 7 years to 31 March 2014, versus
the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index of 2.8% p.a. over the same period – a top quartile 5.4% p.a.
outperformance. Pleasingly, this performance was achieved with a volatility of approximately 20%
below the overall market.
