Nga Lucas

OC Funds Management proudly announces the appointment of Nga Lucas to its investment team as Portfolio Manager for the OC Mid-Cap Fund. With over a decade at Australian Foundation Investment Company (AFIC) where she served as a Senior Investment Analyst, Nga brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new role.

Bringing over two decades of investment experience in Australian equities, including 10 years on the sell-side working at Goldman Sachs and HSBC, Nga has demonstrated a successful track record in navigating equity markets. Her strategic insights, deep understanding of the Australian equity landscape, and excellent communication skills will undoubtedly enhance OC Funds Management’s newest venture.

“We are thrilled to welcome Nga Lucas to OC Funds Management,” said Robert Frost, Head of Investments at OC Funds Management. “Nga’s appointment reflects our commitment to attracting top-tier investment professionals to deliver outstanding results for our clients and strengthens our capabilities in the mid-cap space. She is a perfect fit for our team’s culture.”

The OC Mid-Cap Fund aims to capitalise on the growth potential of mid-sized companies, offering investors a diversified portfolio tailored to capture opportunities in this dynamic segment of the market. Nga’s leadership will be instrumental in shaping the Fund’s investment strategy.

“I am excited to join OC Funds Management and contribute to the development of the OC Mid-Cap Fund. The OC investment team is well known to me, and I see this as an exciting opportunity to leverage my investment expertise and contribute to the firm’s growth and success,” said Ms Lucas.

Ms Lucas’ appointment comes at a pivotal moment for OC Funds Management as they expand their product offerings and strengthen their investment capabilities. Her appointment reaffirms OC Funds Management’s dedication to providing innovative investment solutions that address the evolving needs of investors.

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Aaron Yeoh

Australian small companies specialist OC Funds Management is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Yeoh as Senior Investment Analyst, reporting to Head of Investment, Robert Frost.

Aaron will be responsible for research and analysis of Australian small and mid-cap companies and will add to the team’s coverage across a broad range of sectors, including consumer discretionary, industrials and information technology.

Aaron was previously a Research Analyst at Cooper Investors, where he was responsible for investing in Asian and global listed companies in consumer brands related sectors. Before that, Aaron worked in Equity Research at Goldman Sachs for over 5 years, where he was a highly regarded analyst in the emerging companies team focusing on a broad range of small to mid-cap companies. Early in his career, Aaron also held analyst roles at both National Australia Bank and Mutual Trust.

Rob Frost said “we are delighted to have Aaron join our team and believe he will align strongly with both our cultural values and our investment philosophy. Aaron brings significant insights from both his funds management and sell side research experience that will place the OC Funds team in an excellent position to continue to generate investment returns for our clients”.

Aaron will work across three key portfolios, the OC Premium Small Companies Fund, the OC Dynamic Equity Fund and the OC Micro-Cap Fund, all of which are rated Highly Recommended by ratings house Lonsec.  These funds are distributed by Copia Investment Partners and are available on most major Australian platforms.

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Rob Frost

Australian small cap investors have an unprecedented opportunity to gain exposure to new company floats, according to small companies specialist OC Funds Management (OC). At its September investor briefing, OC Head of Investments Rob Frost highlighted that the concentration of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) seeking to list in the final stretch of 2020 was probably the highest he has witnessed in his nearly 20 years at OC.

Following a stronger-than-expected results period and with equity markets buoyant, the window of opportunity has opened for companies planning an ASX listing. In September alone, the small companies fund manager has seen over 20 prospective IPOs, some as part of a formalised IPO process and others at a more preliminary Non-Deal Roadshow (NDR) stage. “One broker that we know of has a pipeline of up to 18 IPOs to bring to market over the balance of the calendar year”, said Rob.

Some examples of smaller IPOs exploring an ASX listing (outside of the top 100 listed companies) include $1 billion-plus businesses such as software platform Nuix, and infrastructure asset Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal. At the micro-cap end of the market, companies such as mydeal.com.au and Aussie Broadband are also making a run at the ASX boards.

In the investor briefing, Rob highlighted that the process companies go through prior to listing often involves an NDR consultation with select fund managers on detailed aspects of the deal. Following these initial fund manager meetings, which typically explore the business model and growth strategy and provide scant (if any) financial information, the key stakeholders of the prospective listing may thereafter move toward a more formalised roadshow with the intention of listing on the ASX.

Rob noted that “the opportunity to be heavily engaged early in the IPO process gives OC an opportunity to meet with key management, understand the business model and the growth strategy of the company prior to a more formalised roadshow presentation, where we delve into the financial details. At this earlier stage we offer feedback on whether it is the type of business that, subject to valuation, we might be interested in becoming a shareholder in.”

Not all proposed IPOs will make it to the ASX bourse, nor will all the consulted fund managers ultimately decide to invest in each opportunity they review. “We kiss a lot of frogs”, said Rob. “But we have already seen some quality businesses and the IPO process offers an opportunity to invest in companies that haven’t yet been efficiently priced by the broader market. Therefore, if we do our job well, we can add alpha for our clients by investing in IPOs which subsequently come onto the ASX at a premium.”

OC is one of Australia’s longest running small cap fund managers and is distributed by Copia Investment Partners.

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The OC Micro-Cap Fund aims to deliver investors strong long-term capital growth by investing in Australian and NZ companies with a market cap of less than $350 million.

Robert Frost, OC’s Head of Investments, said, “We’re pleased our micro-cap strategy is now available through two of Australia’s leading platforms. It gives financial advisers the opportunity to provide their clients access to a diverse range of compelling and often under-researched companies at the smaller end of the market.”

“With around 1,800 businesses on the ASX with a market cap of less than $350 million, there is ample opportunity to find stocks that have the potential to deliver investors meaningful long-term capital growth,” Frost said.

The announcement follows the Fund’s recent ‘Recommended’ rating from research houses Zenith and Lonsec.

Congratulating OC, Sam Baillieu, CEO of OC’s parent company, Copia Investment Partners, said “Robert and his team are committed and highly rated smaller companies investors, so it’s pleasing to see OC broaden its reach through these platform inclusions.”

At the end of June, the Fund delivered investors over one, three and five years 15.4%, 14.0% p.a. and 15.7% p.a., respectively.

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The strategy aims to deliver investors strong long-term capital growth by investing in Australian and NZ companies with a market cap of less than $350 million.

Robert Frost, OC’s Head of Investments, said, “After extensive due diligence, we are delighted Alpha awarded us the mandate. We look forward to working with Alpha and giving their clients access to a range of compelling companies at the smaller end of the market.”

Julien Brodie, Portfolio Manager at Alpha, added, “We were attracted to OC’s micro-cap strategy because of the calibre and experience of the investment team, its proven ability to outperform and propensity for lower downside capture, which resonates with our investment philosophy.”

The mandate follows the strategy’s recent ‘Recommended’ rating from research houses Zenith and Lonsec.

At the end of June 2017, OC’s micro-cap strategy delivered investors 15.8% p.a., 14.0% p.a. and 15.7% p.a. over one, three and five years, respectively.

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Stein joins OC as an Analyst from Altair Asset Management where he specialised in Australian small and mid-cap industrial and financial companies.

“We’re pleased to welcome Daniel to the team. He brings strong Australian smaller companies research and investment expertise that will complement our team’s capabilities,” Frost said.

“With the recent launch of our micro-cap fund, our investment universe has grown. Daniel will enable us to cover more stocks and identify value-creation opportunities for the long-term benefit of investors.”

Welcoming the appointment, Sam Baillieu, Chief Executive Officer of OC’s parent company, Copia Investment Partners, said “OC’s growth is testament to the solid long-term performance of its portfolios and recent release of a dedicated micro-cap strategy.”

“Robert and his team are committed and highly rated smaller companies investors, so its pleasing to see OC bolster its efforts through this appointment.”

Stein will support Robert Frost, Robert Calnon and Stephen Evans from OC’s Melbourne office and will be responsible for financial modelling and researching Australian small and micro-cap companies.

Stein is a CFA charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia.

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