The funds are the Bennelong Australian Equities Fund, the Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund, the Bennelong ex-20 Australian Equities Fund and the Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund.

All four funds are run by BAEP’s single investment team, based on a similar active management, long-only equities strategy that uses a fundamental and bottom-up investment process.

BAEP was founded in 2008 by Mark East in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management.

In its reports for each of the funds, Lonsec said: “This rating reflects Lonsec’s high regard and increased conviction for the experience and calibre of Portfolio Manager and CIO, Mark East, as well as the robust and logical investment process and supportive ‘boutique-with-backing’ ownership structure, which ensures a strong alignment of the investment team.

“Notably, the Fund has delivered an impressive long-term track record of outperformance relative to the benchmark and its peers and has successfully met its investment objective over all assessed time periods.”

It also said: “The Manager adopts a comprehensive stock research process with the key drivers being extensive industry and value chain (competitors, suppliers, customers, regulators) analysis supported by a well- resourced company visitation program.

“Lonsec draws significant comfort from the research process, considering it to be comprehensive and able to identify quality stocks.”

The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund has returned 18.01% over one year, 15.54% p.a. over 3 years, 14.20% p.a. over 5 years and 13.97% p.a. since inception*. All four funds are available on multiple platforms, with the Concentrated Fund recently being added to the North platform.

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*As at 31 August 2020. Inception date is 20 January 2009.

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The award-winning fund, the Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund, has provided strong returns over time. Since the fund’s inception, it has returned 18.1% per annum compared to the benchmark’s return of 10.6% over the same time period. Over the past year, it has returned 19.6% compared to the benchmark’s return of 5.7% (returns are as at 30 April 2018 and the fund’s benchmark is the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index).

The fund is concentrated in BAEP’s highest conviction stock picks, typically holding 20-30 stocks selected from across the ASX. BAEP manages the fund using a research-intensive and risk-focused investment approach that emphasises companies with strong fundamentals.

BAEP’s CIO, Mark East, said the fund’s success came down to a focused investment approach and the discipline, focus and hard work of the investment team in executing it.

“This award pays tribute to the consistent effort of our investment team and the strong returns we’ve been able to achieve for our clients,” said Mr East.

BAEP was founded in 2008 by Mr East in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management. It now manages five Australian equity funds, all employing the same proven investment approach. The Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund was one of BAEP’s first funds, incepted in January 2009, and will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year.

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The Fund is managed by Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) and has been rated ‘highly recommended’ consistently since 2011. It provides investors with an Australian shares portfolio that invests in companies that lie outside of the top 20 ASX listed stocks. In its latest review Zenith said the fund is an appealing offering owing to its highly capable portfolio manager and demonstrated track record of outperformance.

In its latest review Zenith said the fund is an appealing offering owing to its highly capable portfolio manager and demonstrated track record of outperformance.

The fund is placed in Zenith’s “Australian shares – mid-cap” sector, which it says can potentially be used by investors seeking a lower volatility exposure to ex-20 Australian Shares, versus a more volatile dedicated small companies fund. Over the longer-term, it says active management in this sector has historically demonstrated an ability to outperform a passive index.

Portfolio manager Mark East said: “The Fund leverages some really promising companies outside of the large-cap names that everyone knows of.

“In comparison to the typical domestic core equity portfolio, the Fund offers genuine diversification and greater exposure to the rich opportunity set outside of the largest 20 stocks,” Mr East said.

BAEP is a boutique fund manager established in 2008 as a joint venture between Bennelong Funds Management (Bennelong) and BAEP’s principals.

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BAEP is a boutique fund manager focused on investing Australian listed equities. The business was founded in 2008 by Mark East in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management. It is now established as an award-winning team, managing funds on behalf of retail and institutional clients, as well as on a pro bono basis for charitable organisations.

The Bennelong Core Fund aims to provide investors with a diversified Australian share portfolio consisting of high quality companies within the S&P/ASX 300 Index and beyond.  The Concentrated Fund has a similar strategy and typically holds approximately 25 stocks.

Zenith believes the Funds are both “appealing offerings owing to their strong investment team and performance driven culture”.

BAEP manages four funds in total, all of which have this year been rated Highly Recommended by Zenith.  In addition to the Bennelong Core and Bennelong Concentrated Funds, BAEP manages two funds that actively invest outside the ASX 20.

The Bennelong ex-20 Australian Equities Fund (Bennelong ex-20 Fund) was a market first and has been a popular choice with advisers. The ex-20 Fund invests in companies that lie outside the ASX 20, providing genuine diversification and greater exposure to some of the most compelling opportunities in the market. The Fund has retained its Highly Recommended ratings since 2011.

The team’s newest fund, the Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund, combines an indexed position in the ASX 20 with active management of stocks outside the top 20. The combination of active and passive ensures a low-cost offering that retains the ability to outperform.

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Paul Cuddy

The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund (the Core Fund) and the Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund (the Concentrated Fund) have celebrated their five-year anniversary.

Despite being launched against the backdrop of the GFC in 2008, the funds have enjoyed consistent inflows and delivered strong returns to investors. The Core Fund returned 17.50% and the Concentrated Fund 20.07% since inception p.a.*; the funds’ benchmark, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index, returned 12.76% over the same five-year period.

Both funds are managed by Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP), which is headed up by Paul Cuddy and Mark East and was established in 2008 in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management (Bennelong).

Celebrating the five-year anniversary of the funds, Paul said: “We are incredibly proud of our achievements so far, and we look forward to continuing to deliver innovative, high quality investment solutions to investors. Our partnership with Bennelong has successfully enabled us to remain focused on delivering results for our clients.”

BAEP has grown its client base over the last five years, which includes retail and high net wealth investors, super funds, and institutional clients, along with a presence on a range of platforms and dealer group approved product lists. The team also manage the Bennelong ex-20 Australian Equities Fund.

* Inception date is 30 January 2009. Performance figures as at 31 January 2014, since inception p.a. and gross (before fees and expenses). 

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The Fund is managed by Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) and provides investors with access to a unique Australian equities portfolio that invests in companies outside the top 20 ASX listed stocks.

Experienced investment team
Lonsec Investment Analyst, Thembi Matabiswana, said the depth and breadth of experience across BAEP’s investment team is above average compared to industry peers, despite BAEP’s smaller team size. The team consists of six members including five with sector and stock research responsibilities and a dedicated quantitative research resource.

Key principals Paul Cuddy and Mark East (Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer respectively) previously co-headed the Australian equities operation at ING Investment Management, underpinning Lonsec’s increased conviction in Paul and Mark’s experience.

“The investment team has remained stable over the years, a clear demonstration of the cohesive culture in the organisation,” said Matamiswana.

Solid research and portfolio construction process
The Lonsec report considers BAEP’s stock research process to be solid, using a fundamental bottom-up active process supported by a multi-factor quantitative research platform. The multi-factor model is used to monitor and rank stocks on a series of alpha sensitive factors. “The tool allows for greater transparency and consistency across the research process,” the report noted.

Lonsec also stated that the Fund’s one-year return sits well above the Lonsec assessed peer average, and the Fund has clearly outperformed the small cap and mid cap sectors over the same period.

Paul Cuddy, BAEP’s CEO, said the team were delighted with the outcome of Lonsec’s review. “We are obviously very pleased with the rating upgrade – a great endorsement of the team’s efforts and processes,” Cuddy commented.

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