Zenith names Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund best small cap manager as consistency pays off
Mike Younger
Outperforming consistently over the long-term including tough market conditions has been key to the Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund being awarded Best Small Cap Manager at the Zenith Fund Awards for 2022.
Portfolio Managers Richard Ivers and Mike Younger said market volatility had created plenty of buying opportunities throughout the last year. “As investors we like to take the opportunity to look through current market conditions and find good quality companies which are now more attractively priced.
“We’re always looking to invest and to build on the quality in our portfolio. Small caps tend to experience the strongest rebounds when markets do eventually turn positive, and are often the first movers in a recovery”, Mr Ivers said.
The Zenith Fund Awards recognise excellence in funds management with an emphasis on long-term factors including performance.
Along with the Zenith Fund Award, the Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund was recently ranked first in Mercer’s Australian Small Companies (ex-ASX100) survey for annualised performance over three years to FY2022, a period including the initial COVID sell-off, the subsequent recovery, and the current inflationary environment. It was also ranked a Star Manager this year by Financial Newswire in association with SQM Research.
Mike Younger, Portfolio Manager, said the Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund has an historical track record of outperforming 83% of months when the index has fallen. “Protecting capital comes back to stock selection. Picking resilient companies with strong cash flow, recurring revenues and low debt levels drives performance in good times but also insulates somewhat during bad times.
“These fundamentals in stock selection not only minimise the damage done from falling markets, they bring the potential to enjoy the next upswing.”
The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund takes a high conviction, benchmark unaware approach, with approximately $120 million funds under management, and is managed by boutique investment manager, Prime Value Asset Management.
Prime Value Asset Management was founded in 1998 and is part of an investment group including Shakespeare Property Group, managing over $2.5 billion in equities, income securities, direct property and alternative assets.
