Nitesh Patel
Insync Fund Managers dynamically implements index put strategies to protect its international equities portfolio.
As the markets have significantly recovered from their 2009 lows and valuations on many equity markets are high Insync believes that investors should increasingly focus on preserving the return.
With rising markets comes complacency reflected in the volatility of equity markets recently reaching record lows. Insync have taken advantage of the low volatility by increasing the level of protection.
“Our DNA is ‘growth with protection’ and we established a downside protection strategy when we started the Fund. During the last two periods of high volatility, during the EU crisis and US debt debacle, the equity markets fell sharply whilst the Insync’s Global Titans Fund increased in value.
“Unlike passive funds, we concentrate on truly “exceptional” global companies that constitute only a small part of any major index and not generally available in Australia,” said Nitesh Patel, Portfolio Manager at Insync.
Insync seeks ‘exceptional’ companies that have resilient business models and consistently provide:
- High ROIC
- Highly visible and low volatile earnings stream
- Resilient and dominant market positioning
- Growth potential through innovation or new markets
- Strong free cash flow yield.
- Strong shareholder yield and focus of consistent and growing dividends/buybacks
The favoured sectors for Insync include growth opportunities in:
- Global healthcare
- Information technology
- Global consumer brands
- Media – Pay TV and content
“The arguments for including international equities in a portfolio is not only based on diversification for its own sake but also to access sectors that are not available in Australia.
“A relatively strong currency, due partly to the yield differential with the major economies, has continued to hurt he Australian economy. However it does offer investors the opportunity to buy quality offshore assets at attractive prices,” said Mr Patel.