Australian equities funds manager Alpha Investment Management has more than tripled its FUM with two mandate wins in two months.
One mandate of $100 million will begin this week, and another of $200 million began in August. Together they bring the value manager’s total FUM to $420 million. The Alpha Value Fund had never had more than $120 million since its inception in July 2002, until now. It was not previously a core part of the Alpha business, Alpha managing director Victor De Lorenzo said. The previous core business, a hedge fund which reached $2 billion at its peak, went with the departure of Alpha’s former managing director Peter Apostolopoulos early this year. De Lorenzo said the company was a different animal since the revamp which took place in January, but the strategy of the Value Fund has not changed. It selects stocks from the top 300 Australian equities with three primary filters: low market price to earnings ratio, above market earnings growth rate, and above market yield. This process narrows the universe down to about 60, according to De Lorenzo. The fund typically invests in 30 to 35 stocks and it has a low turnover target of below 30 per cent. It has consistently outperformed its benchmark, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index, by 4.9 per cent annually since inception. In the last 12 months it has outperformed its benchmark by 9.67 per cent.
The brunt of losses from the LA wildfires are expected to be borne by primary insurers and high-risk reinsurance programs, but super funds are nevertheless closely monitoring the possible impact of the fires on catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities exposures.
Simon HoyleJanuary 17, 2025
