Rod Bristow

Clime Investment Management Limited (ASX: CIW) has called for an urgent Summit to discuss a coordinated approach to fiscal stimulus to support the ailing Australian economy.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) yesterday cut the official cash rate by 0.25% to 0.50%.  Notably, the RBA called out the negative impacts of the coronavirus on global growth.  It also called out that policy measures have been announced in several countries, including China, to help support growth.

“These are unprecedented times, with the impacts of the coronavirus coming so soon after the devastating bushfires.  The time for the Australian polity to show genuine leadership and support for the Australian economy is now”, Clime CEO Rod Bristow said.

“It seems that because one side of politics provided fiscal stimulus during the GFC, the other side of politics feels they cannot repeat this policy idea.  The Reserve Bank of Australia is nearly out of ammunition to provide further monetary stimulus and fiscal stimulus is urgently required to prevent the Australian economy going into recession”, Bristow said.

“We speak to thousands of Australian investors each year.  Our view is the Australian public cares less about wedge politics and budget surpluses and more about maintaining an adequate standard of living and an appropriate level of support for communities.  This has to take place by stimulating the economy by directly supporting, in particular, consumers and small businesses”, he said.

Clime said the Summit should call together leaders and finance representatives of the major political parties, the Departments of Treasury and Finance, representatives of small, medium and large business and community groups.  Collectively, the Summit should aim to develop a fiscal stimulus package that will have broad support across Government and Opposition, business and the community.  The fiscal stimulus package should be able to be rapidly implemented for maximum positive impact on the Australian economy.

The post Clime Calls on Canberra for Urgent Summit on Fiscal Stimulus appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Adrian Ezquerro

Clime Investment Management Limited (ASX: CIW) has announced the Clime Smaller Companies Fund has surpassed two significant milestones: $50m under management and investment returns of 50.7% net of fees for the 12 months to 31 January 2020.

Clime Head of Investments Adrian Ezquerro said, “This is an outstanding result for investors.  After launching the Fund in April 2017, we have been pleased to have investors’ show faith in our approach to the small cap segment of the market.”

“Clime’s investment process and methodology focuses on identifying quality companies and investing in these using a strong valuation discipline.  This has delivered outstanding results so far at far lower levels of risk than the benchmark.  Of course,  the hard work starts now with continuing these great results and we are up for the challenge”, he said.

Clime’s investment management team of 11 staff collectively have more than 150 years’ experience.  The Clime All Cap Australian Equities Fund (formerly CBG Australian Equities Fund) was ranked in the Top 5 performing Funds in the country in 2019 by Mercer.  A number of Clime’s other Australian Equities and Income strategies performed in the top 10% of their category over the same period.  Clime staff co-invest alongside investors in many of the Clime strategies.

The Clime Smaller Companies Fund is available to retail and wholesale investors with $10,000 and $100,000 to invest respectively via the Clime website.  Financial advisers can also access the Fund for their clients via the Hub24, Netwealth and Praemium investment platforms.  It has been rated as Superior (4 stars) by SQM Research.

The post Clime Smaller Companies Fund hits two milestones appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Rod Bristow

Clime is pleased to announce the extension of its distribution network with three funds joining the Netwealth and Hub24 platforms. This includes both investor directed portfolio services (IDPS) and Superannuation Services to provide expanded and consistent access for Australian financial advisers.

The Clime funds now available on these platforms are:

• Clime Australian Income Fund
• Clime Smaller Companies Fund
• Clime International Fund

The addition of these Clime funds to these leading platforms follows their receipt of strong SQM ratings: Clime Smaller Companies Fund – 4 stars; Clime Australian Income Fund – 4.25 stars and Clime International Fund -4.25 stars.

Clime’s Chief Executive Officer, Rod Bristow, said: “The effective combination of top-down and bottom-up analysis plus the experience of the underlying investment team, who together boast more than 150 years’ experience, were considerable driving forces in both the ratings and platform approval.

“We are looking forward to supporting financial advisers around the country with quality investment solutions, allowing them to focus on what they do best: giving clients great advice and growing their businesses.”Clime’s investment portfolios reflect an investment in quality stocks using a rigorous valuation discipline. Clime’s primary objective is to achieve strong returns for clients in excess of the relevant benchmark with lower levels of risk. This grows and protects capital in the accumulation phase and generates meaningful income in the retirement phase.

Clime’s Head of Investments, Adrian Ezquerro, said: “The inclusion of our managed funds on these two prominent platforms is further validation of our investment process and ability to deliver high quality investment solutions.’’

The post Clime Funds now on Hub24 and Netwealth Platforms appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Rod Bristow

Clime Asset Management’s three funds – International, Income and Smaller Companies – have turned in stellar performances for the 12 months to 31 May 2019.

The latest Morningstar data shows that the Smaller Companies Fund ($30 million) returned 16.3% for this period ; the Income Fund ($24 million) returned 7.4% ; and the International Fund ($98 million) returned 8.7%.

Under the new leadership of CEO Rod Bristow and Head of Investments Adrian Ezquerro, Clime is refining and enhancing its long-established credentials in funds management, with its quality focus and strong valuation discipline investment style.

Bristow says: “Managing money in the current investment environment is difficult. There are many challenges, characterized by slow growth, increased volatility and ultra-low interest rates, but we believe Clime has the right processes in place to be able to deliver value to our investors.

“It’s our emphasis on deep research, a strong focus on quality and a bias towards value that allows us to differentiate and find attractive, long-term investment opportunities.”

The Smaller Companies Fund, which had its second birthday in April, has successfully outperformed both its benchmark (a blended ASX Small Ords + ASX Emerging Companies Accum Indices) and its peer group since inception, returning an average 19.3% a year as of May 2019. This outstanding performance is despite holding a healthy cash reserve, typically about 15%.

Commenting on the investment process, Portfolio Manager Jonathan Wilson emphasises quality and value. “We invest in niche leaders that are positioned for long-term success, provided they’re attractively priced. They include Audinate, Macquarie Telecom and Navigator Global Investments.”

The Australian Income Fund is a multi-sector balanced fund designed to deliver regular income and offer low risk of capital loss. It is exposed to domestic fixed interest (45%), domestic equity (18%), listed and unlisted property (22%) and cash (15%). Over the past three years, it has reported average returns of 6.78%.

The International Fund, jointly managed out of London with the large institutional house Sanlam, invests across a range of mostly large cap global stocks. Its largest holdings at the end of April were Microsoft, Roche Holdings and Alphabet, with 40% held in US equities. Its five-year return has been 9.21% a year.

The post Clime funds climbing the charts appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Stephen brings over 30 years’ experience in investment management, retail, wholesale and institutional product distribution. Stephen joins from OneVue Ltd where he held positions as Head of Group Sales and Head of Distribution for Platform Services for a combined period of 10 years. Prior to this Stephen was at Philo Capital Advisers and Macquarie Bank and held similar roles as Head of Sales & Marketing and Head of Distribution.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland and completed his MBA at the London Business School. He is well known and respected across the national Financial Adviser community and has good reach across dealer groups to help Clime achieve our goals.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining Clime. I am a firm believer that advisers’ clients will benefit from the quality products and services Clime has on offer. I look forward to working with the Clime team to bring these products to new customers and markets”, says Mr Karrasch.

Rod Bristow, Clime CEO adds “Clime has enhanced its investment offer and is actively investing in future growth through supporting financial advisers with high quality investment products for their clients. We are pleased to have Stephen join our team and his expertise will add significant value to our customers and partners, leveraging the strength of Clime’s traditional wholesale business and outstanding investment performance track-record”, he said.

Since listing on the ASX in 2001, Clime has been a regular ‘no-nonsense’ commentator on markets, helping every day Australian take positive action to improve their wealth. Well known as an Australian equity manager for wholesale clients, Clime’s investment solutions are now available to financial advisers. These include the Clime Smaller Companies Fund, Clime CBG Australian Equities Fund, Clime International Fund and Clime Australian Income Fund. Clime also acts as the Investment Manager for a prominent Queensland-based dealer group, managing a series of IMAs and SMAs on behalf of advisers within the Group.

The post Clime Investment Management appoints Head of Distribution appeared first on AdviserVoice.

John Abernathy

Clime Asset Management has warned that self-directed investors can’t be complacent following a major shift in the investment landscape following the US Federal Reserve’s announcement delaying further interest rate increases for a year and flagging slower growth in the US economy.

“This is a significant announcement for self-directed investors,” Clime’s John Abernethy says. “It signals lower potential returns from equities, which will create much greater competition for yield assets. Self-directed investors need to move quickly to lock in yields.”

The US Federal Reserve overnight said it would not be raising interest rates in 2019, with only one hike in 2020. The Fed will hold its balance sheet steady and be more active in the bond market, recycling mortgages into US Government bonds.

The Fed has also acknowledged the US economy is slowing, with the central bank now forecasting growth of 2.1% in 2019, effectively cutting 0.2% off their forecast issued three months ago. The Fed sees growth slowing again to below 2% in 2020.

Abernethy says the Fed’s announcement has serious implications for investment strategies.

The announcement will cause interest rates to compress, with a reduction in bond yields. “Australian bonds have already rallied with yields just 10-basis points above their all-time lows in the wake of the Fed’s move,” he says.

Slowing US growth also means that the capital gains potential of equity markets will be lower. “Returns from equity markets will now be substantially yield driven,” Abernethy says.

But above all the announcement will also create competition for yield assets.

“A significant problem is emerging for big asset and pension managers who need to get a sustainable yield at reasonably low risk. They have traditionally sought this from the bond market, but that opportunity has been taken away from them.”

“The major asset managers, particularly in Australia, will aggressively buy yield wherever they can,” he says. “Away from equity markets, quality yield will be strongly bid.”

Abernethy says the big investors, including pension funds, will be looking to switch into the likes of corporate debt, hybrids, direct property, mortgage fund and mortgage-backed securities.

Abernethy says that self-directed investors need to move quickly and shift into yield assets before yields are crushed by the stampede of big investors.

“If self-directed investors were thinking that interest rates were going to rise in the foreseeable future, it’s not going to happen,” he says. “They can’t rely on the hope that interest rates on term deposits will rise anytime soon”

“Self-directed investors have to utilise their flexibility and move quickly into similar assets before the big funds move more aggressively into direct property, mortgage funds and corporate debt” he says. “SMSFs need to be on the front foot.”

But Abernethy noted that moving away from equities and cash does create additional challenges and risks.

“Investors need to know the risks they are taking on,” he says. “That’s where wealth advice is needed to understand the true risk profile of the investor to ensure that it is consistent with the risk profile of the investment”

“An investor must clearly understand the cash flows coming off each individual investment, its propensity to grow and the risk – even if low – of disappointment. And most importantly, construction of a balanced portfolio must now be more tilted to yield in response to the Fed’s announcement”

The post Self-directed investors urged to act swiftly to address investment landscape changes amidst interest rate announcements appeared first on AdviserVoice.