Money Management ‘Rate the Raters’ Survey 2010

The annual ‘Rate the Raters’ survey conducted by Money Management was published this week (edition dated June 10, 2010). The survey is sent to investment managers, asking them to rate the research houses on a number of parameters, including research methodology, time analysts spent with investment personnel, transparency of research process and the quality and experience of the research analysts.

In describing the results of the 2010 survey, Money Management said “Lonsec scored consistently high results across a wide range of categories...”. These categories include research methodology, accuracy of the rating given, turnaround time of research reports and, importantly, the quality and experience of Lonsec’s research analysts.

To read the article, click here.

Lonsec participates in Asset roundtable

Lukasz de Pourbaix, of Lonsec’s Investment Consulting team, recently participated in a round table with Asset magazine, published in the March edition. The round table pulled together a number of industry personnel to discuss the role of cash in client portfolios and some of the products that fall into that category.

While Lonsec does not rate “vanilla” cash products, it does rate enhanced cash and other ‘alternative income’ products. During the round table Lukasz noted that “...not all cash funds are genuine cash funds. Some are exposed to highly rated credit securities.”

For more detail, refer to the March edition of Asset.

Lonsec to select finalists and winners of Fund Manager of the Year 2010

For the third year, Lonsec has been invited by Money Management to select the finalists and winners for the 22nd Fund Manager of the Year (FMOTY) awards.

As with previous years, finalists and winners will be selected based on a combination of past performance and forward looking measures. The awards will be held in Sydney on 13 May – see Money Management for more details. Key Lonsec personnel will once again be in attendance at the awards.

Another successful Roadshow

Lonsec has just completed another successful national Roadshow, presenting to more than 1,000 financial advisers. The theme of the 2010 Roadshow was Australian Equities, with Jeremy Pree, Manager Stockbroking, discussing direct equities and Paul Pavlidis, Head of Ratings–Equity Managed Funds, looking at Australian equity funds.

Both presenters looked at how their respective Australian equities fared during the recent turmoil and which stocks and funds are best positioned to add value going forward. Videos of the sessions will be available to subscribers soon.

Vox Pop – is it time for Commercial Property?

Kevin Prosser, Lonsec’s Head of Property & Infrastructure Research, recently appeared in Smart Investor’s March Vox Pop on commercial property. Is it time?

Kevin believes the recovery will be modest, while most capital city markets have probably bottomed (with the odd laggard) although recovery in values will be modest given capital constraints and the unwinding of government packages.

For more information see the March edition of AFR Smart Investor magazine.

Lonsec’s Norm Graham in Money Management’s round table forum

Money Management recently held its first-ever round table comprising research house representatives. It was attended by key personnel from Lonsec, Zenith, Standard & Poor’s, Morningstar and van Eyk. The discussion was wide-ranging, covering a number of industry issues. Lonsec’s Managing Director Norm Graham participated in this robust discussion.

To read the edited transcript published by Money Management (August 27, 2009), click here.

evotv: Looking through the research

The Crystal Ball 2009

Lonsec's Grant Kennaway says the downturn has renewed focus on looking through the research, not just taking the rating for granted. Lonsec remains cautious, but believes there are opportunities in low-risk credit and emerging markets; the research house encourages clients to look at the valuations and get back to fundamentals.

Click here to see the interview.

Money Management’s ‘Rate the Raters’ survey

Lonsec has again performed well in the annual Money Management ‘Rate the Raters’ survey, in which investment managers are asked to rate research houses on a range of parameters. According to Money Management, “Lonsec was rated highest by survey respondents when the results in all categories are considered.”

Rating well in this survey is important to Lonsec – it means that we are providing accurate and transparent research reports and that our research methodology is highly regarded by those who know their products best.

Click here to read the article.

Portfolio Picks

Lonsec is pleased to be working exclusively with brillient! and the Portfolio Construction Forum on its Portfolio picks, funds we identify as ‘picks of the bunch’. The fund manager and Lonsec analysts are interviewed and this is then webcast from the Portfolio Construction and Lonsec sites. The current pick is the T.Rowe Price Global Equity Fund…watch out for more in the coming weeks.

Introducing Lonsec’s Portfolio Administration Service

PAS is the complete outsourced administration service for financial advisers seeking a simple solution to manage client portfolios.

As well as recording all equity transactions, PAS can also hold details of other investments, including managed funds, rental properties or term deposits. Through PAS, you can easily manage clients’ assets, including automatic reconciliation with CHESS.

PAS can also be used to manage portfolios - not just the administration, but also the tracking and management of portfolio holdings.

Doing our job properly

Lonsec’s General Manager Research, Grant Kennaway, says it’s important to be getting the ratings right. Quality research is very important as more investors look for help and guidance. Kennaway says investors should be reviewing their portfolio to see if it meets their risk profile. It’s time to get back to basics to meet your long-term objectives.

Click here to see the interview.

Money Management Fund Manager of the Year Awards

For the second year, Lonsec has helped select the finalists and winners for Money Management’s Fund Manager of the Year Awards. Now in its 22nd year, this event is considered to be the industry’s premier award ceremony. Fund Manager of the Year 2009 was held in Sydney on 14 May - look out for Money Management for details of all finalists and winners. Listed below are the principal results of the award. Congratulations to all finalists and winners!

Lonsec awards 2008 Ethical Investor Fund of the Year

For the second year, Lonsec was invited to asses ‘ethical’ funds and select the recipient of the 2008 Ethical Investor Fund of the Year award. This is the second year that Lonsec has been involved in the Australian Sustainability Awards and specifically in helping to determine the Ethical Investor Fund of the Year.

The Australian Ethical Equities Trust was a clear outperformer over the assessed period and performed particularly strongly over the past year. It rated well on a number of key factors, including depth of SRI factors considered in the investment process and the manager’s overall engagement with the responsible investment sector.

Click here to read the full article from Ethical Investor.

Lonsec interview on Rainmaker ITV

Amanda Gillespie, Lonsec’s Head of Investment Consulting, was recently interviewed on Rainmaker ITV about her extensive experience in the financial services sector.

To hear what Amanda has to say, click here .

Lonsec at FPA National Conference 2008

Grant Kennaway, Lonsec’s General Manager Research, participated in panel discussion on day one titled ‘A review of research houses: are they doing their jobs properly and can you rely on their research alon?'

Grant’s fellow presenters were Robbie Bennetts, CEO of PIS and Brian Thomas, Head of Retail Funds Management at Perennial Investment Partners. Their discussion drew a large audience and was positively received.

Lonsec’s stand was visited by a number of clients— our people on the ground enjoyed the opportunity to put faces to names!

Appointment of Head of Ratings - Equity Managed Funds

Lonsec is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Pavlidis to the role of Head of Ratings - Equity Managed Funds

Effective January 2009, Paul will be responsible for co-ordinating Lonsec’s research of global and Australian equity managed funds. In this role, he will lead the team of analysts covering these funds, as well as assuming leadership and client liaison tasks.

In conjunction with this new appointment, Michael Elsworth, Lonsec’s Head of Ratings – Income and Alternative Products, will assume additional responsibilities for researching hedge funds and income funds. Analysts leading these sectors will report directly through to Michael.

Paul Pavlidis joined Lonsec in August 2006. Since then he has been leading the property securities fund research team within Lonsec’s Property and Infrastructure division. Prior to joining Lonsec, Paul was Head of Listed Securities at Property Investment Research where he was responsible for the firm’s listed property research. Paul has also worked for Hastings Funds Management as an infrastructure analyst, and was previously employed as a management consultant with Accenture, where he worked on various projects involving large national and multinational organisations.

Dealers' Group Property & Infrastructure Investment Review

Lonsec is pleased to participate in the Dealers’ Group third annual Property & Infrastructure Investment Review. To be chaired by Lonsec’s Northern States Sales Manager, Steve Newnham, the day-long session also includes personnel from Lonsec’s Property & Infrastructure Research team, presenting on the topic “Should we be reassessing the role of property in clients’ portfolios? Are infrastructure investments a suitable replacement?” as well as participating in a panel discussion on the topic “Energy sustainability/green buildings”.

Click here for details of sessions and registration.

Lonsec participates in annual Portfolio Construction Conference

In an industry awash with conferences, the annual PortfolioConstruction Conference has earned a reputation as the investment conference of the year. The 7th annual PortfolioConstruction Conference (27-28 August 2008) cemented its reputation. The conference focused on debating contemporary and emerging portfolio construction issues and featured 36 carefully selected local and international portfolio experts.

Lonsec was actively involved with and supportive of the program. Lonsec’s Head of Investment Consulting, Amanda Gillespie, participated in a plenary discussion with other researchers and multi-manager portfolio managers, debating the current portfolio construction dilemmas faced by delegates.

Lukasz de Pourbaix, Investment Consultant, and Peter Green, Senior Investment Analyst in Lonsec’s Property & Infrastructure research team, participated in the ‘Taking Stock – International Equity (Specialty) and ‘Getting Real – Property’ due diligence forums.

In the media – Realigning Issuers and Investors

The interest in Structured Products continues, with Lonsec’s Michael Elsworth, Head of Ratings – Debt & Structured Products, participating in an Innovative Investor [Issue 7, August 2008] round table.

The discussion focused around the more cautious and discerning approach being taken by investors over the past six months, and the fact that buyers of structured products are starting to return to the market. As this happens, the focus is clearly on capital protection and underlying investments with clear and well defined themes.

Michael Elsworth commented, “Thematic products are also very popular, and there are a lot of these types of products available in the market at the moment. Some of the newer, open-ended forms of capital protection, for 75 or 80 percent of the fund’s highest NAV, can be well suited to thematic-style investments, especially where the timeframe over which that particular theme could play out is uncertain, and where the volatility of that theme, or of the index which provides exposure to the theme, is high.”

Lonsec continues to build its broking team

Lonsec has recently appointed two experienced brokers to support its growing stockbroking business that provides tailored services, including full service broking, to financial advisers.

David Wylie has joined Lonsec’s Melbourne-based stockbroking team in the role of Senior Stockbroking Sales & Project Management. He will primarily be responsible for growing and developing relationships with financial advisers requiring tailored stockbroking services. Prior to Lonsec, David spent seven years at IWL, most recently as General Manager of IWL’s broking division where he worked directly with clients, including financial advisers, and chaired the retail strategy committee.

Brynly Hughes has joined Lonsec’s Sydney-based stockbroking team in the role of Institutional Sales and Distribution Manager. He will primarily be responsible for growing and developing relationships with institutional clients and financial advisers. Brynly previously worked in institutional sales for the boutique institutional equities business Bligh Capital.

For more information about Lonsec’s stockbroking services, please click here, email broking@lonsec.com.au or call us on 03 9623 6300.

Lonsec adds to Investment Consulting team

Lukasz de Pourbaix joined Lonsec’s Sydney-based Investment Consulting team in July 2008 and will be contributing to all aspects of the Investment Consulting service offering. He will also provide input to the Managed Funds research process, with a specific focus on Australian Equities.

Lukasz was previously employed as Research Manager with the research group Financial Facts, where his responsibilities included managing and leading asset class reviews, developing and implementing model portfolios, leading a team of research analysts and presenting at PD Days.

For more information about Lonsec’s Investment Consulting services, please click here, email info@lonsec.com.au or call us on 03 9623 6300.

Fund Manager Challenge

Lonsec is pleased to support the Fund Manager Challenge, an FPA initiative that raises money for the Day of Difference Foundation, which was founded by the parents of Sophie Delezio who suffered unimaginable burns to 85% of her body when an out-of-control car came crashing through the doors of her child care centre.

The Day of Difference Foundation raises funds for much needed lifesaving equipment, facilities and support services for critically injured children and their families. It also funds medical research into burns and skin technology, and advocates for the safety of children and the acceptance of all children who are ‘different’.

The fund managers participating in the challenge have each nominated a fund. A nominal investment of $50,000 is tracked for each with the manager donating a cumulative amount based on the monthly performance to the Day of Difference Foundation.

Details of the managers, funds and performance are provided each month in Money Management and IFA.

In the media - ‘Researchers' turn in the spotlight’

Money Management, July 24, 2008

The annual Top 100/Dealer Group of the Year feature included an article on those research houses most dealer groups favour (with a focus on the Top 100 dealer groups).

This is the second consecutive year that Lonsec has been ranked the number one investment research provider to Top 100 dealer groups, with a market share of 35% (up from 29% in 2007). Lonsec’s General Manager – Research, Grant Kennaway, attributed this growth to “the quality of staff and their dedication to improving upon already strong processes.”

In the media - ‘Making money from Hedge Funds’

IFA, Magazine, 29 July 2008

This article looks at the slow take up of hedge funds—and other alternative assets—by retail investors, unlike superannuation funds and institutional investors that have participated in this sector for some time.

Amanda Gillespie, Lonsec’s Head of Investment Consulting comments that “Industry super funds were early adopters of hedge funds, but for other dealer groups and institutions, they didn’t have the imperative in 2003-2007 to look fully into alternative assets, because traditional ones were motoring along so well.”

To read the full article, go to http://www.investordaily.com.au/4725.htm.

In the media - ‘The river of no returns’

Money Management, July 10, 2008

Two Money Management journalists canvassed industry experts to find out what they through investors can expect from markets in the coming year. One of these experts was Jeremy Pree, Lonsec’s Manager – Stockbroking.

Jeremy is worried about emerging markets – “While developing economies will continue to growth, [that growth] will probably begin to slow through 2009.” He also suggested that the market has now hit a “perfect storm of events” that has led to the pronounced fall. “We have rising oil and food prices along with a credit squeeze, and that all links through to inflation. The real problem now is that when you have slowing growth and inflation, you’ve got nowhere to move with interest rates, which are typically used to slow or stimulate the economy.”

In the media - ‘Structured Products’

Financial Planning, July 2008

With investment markets now at significantly lower levels than this time last year, a number of new products have emerged, providing opportunities to invest in markets while protecting returns. Enter, the Structured Product, which judging by media interest, is flavour of the month.

In the July edition of Financial Planning, Michael Elsworth, Lonsec’s Head of Ratings – Debt & Structured Products, was interviewed about his views of this emerging and growing asset class.

In the media: ‘Boutiques keep up shingles in tough market’

IFA, Magazine, 16 June 2008

The cover story of this edition focuses on boutique investment managers. Despite more turbulent market conditions, the desire by many investment professionals to go it along remains strong. This is, in part, supported by boutique fund ‘incubators’, companies that provide back office and compliance assistance, leaving the investment professionals to focus on their area of expertise – investment.

Lonsec’s Grant Kennaway, General Manager – Research, was quoted extensively in the article, commenting that “the whole environment is not as sympathetic to boutiques as it once was”. Kennaway also observes that in a ‘choppy’ sharemarket, good stock-pickers – whether boutique or institutionally owned – will continue to do well.

The full article is available at http://www.investordaily.com.au/4522.htm.

In the media: ‘Tougher times in MIS industry’

Eureka Report, 12 June 2008

MIS schemes, popular for their tax-deductible status, are on investors’ radar. With the proposed removal of tax-deductibility for non-forestry MIS, investors need to look more closely at forestry schemes.

Jim Blackburn, Lonsec’s Head of Agribusiness Research, states in the article that “Research is key…there certainly are very viable investments in the MIS sector, but there are specific risks, so you need to do your research.” Speaking about forestry investments, Blackburn further remarked that “Within traditional forestry projects, for instance, you need to select good sites. That’s not rocket science, but other factors are more specific, and more specialist, so you need a fair amount of information and unless you have the skill you need independent research.”

Money Management/Lonsec Fund Manager of the Year Awards

Lonsec was delighted to be invited by Money Management to help select the finalists and winners for the 21st Money Management Fund Manager of the Year Awards. Held in Sydney last week, the awards spanned a number of categories including Australian Equities – Broad Cap, Australian Equities – Small Cap, Property Securities, Global Property Securities, Multi-Manager, Emerging Markets, Fixed Interest, Hedge Funds – Long/Short Funds and Hedge Funds – Fund of Funds.

Lonsec would like to congratulate all finalists and winners, as well as Money Management for 21 successful years of Fund Manager of the Year awards. To read about the finalists and winners, go to www.moneymanagement.com.au

Lonsec rated #1 Research House for fourth year in a row

Money Management’s annual ‘Rate the Raters’ survey, which is completed by fund managers, saw Lonsec rated the number one Research House for the fourth year in a row.

This year’s results showed that Lonsec received the best ratings across a greater number of categories than its competitors – “doing particularly well in the areas of influence on business, transparency, methodology and its ability to reflect a fund manager’s capabilities.”

When commenting on the result, Grant Kennaway, General Manager Research, said: “The result was a combination of having a strong research process and a good mix of people within the research team. It is important to us (and our subscribers) that fund managers believe our research accurately portrays their processes.

Lonsec has always been adviser-focused, which has helped us deliver a research product that is relevant to the market.”

‘Infrastructure Funds – Looking for light at the end of the tunnel’

The April edition of Financial Planning magazine contains a feature article on infrastructure and the difficulties the sector has faced in the light of the increase in both borrowing costs and investor scrutiny.

Lonsec’s Kevin Prosser, Head of Property & Infrastructure Research, was quoted in the article, commenting that volatility in the sector has been influenced by investors looking at the discount rate (today’s borrowing rate against future income). “The sector is going through the credit crunch pressure and inflation is causing some problems, but long term the sector is going forward positively,” he said.

In the media – an 'ethical' view of Agribusiness

Published in the February 2008 edition of Ethical Investor is an article by Lonsec’s Head of Agribusiness Research, Jim Blackburn, which looks at the effects of growing investor awareness about environmental impacts on investment managers in the agribusiness sector.

The article focuses on how MIS agribusiness sectors are defining sustainability and environmental objectives, and how these are then implemented in their operations.

To read the article, click here

Agribusiness Review 2008

Jim Blackburn, Lonsec's Head of Agribusiness Research, will again headline at The Dealer Group's annual Agribusiness Review 2008. Fast becoming the 'must attend' event for this sector, this day-long conference has speakers from across the industry.

Jim will be presenting on 'The rise and rise of aquaculture', examining the factors driving growth in aquaculture and opportunities for investors. Jim will also participate in a panel discussing 'Research methodology, strategies and changing investor demands'. It promises to be an educational day.

Click here for details of sessions and registration.

Lonsec continues to build its Structured Products research team

Matt Sloan was recently appointed as an investment analyst in Lonsec’s Structured Products team. He joins Lonsec from the National Australia Bank, where he was most recently Senior Analyst, Group Non-Traded Market Risk.

Matt’s extensive risk analysis skills will be put to good use primarily in the Structured Products area, although he will also work across a number of sectors in the Managed Funds area.

Kaplan's 7th annual Independent Planning Practices conference

Lonsec is pleased to support Kaplan's 7th annual Independent Planning Practices conference, to be held on 25-27 February 2008 at Doltone House, Sydney.

The event agenda is available online at www.iir.com.au/ipp and delegates are eligible for up to 12 CPD points. To register, please call 02 9080 4080 or email kaplan@iir.com.au quoting: L1380EX32.

View the event agenda here

Lonsec senior forester voted WA Forester of the Year 2007

Lonsec’s senior consulting forester, Roger Underwood, has been voted WA’s Forester of the Year for 2007 by the Institute of Foresters of Australia, the professional body representing Australian foresters and forest scientists.

Roger has worked with Lonsec for six years, and in that time has reviewed and reported on nearly 50 forestry MIS projects. These have covered a diverse range of plantation projects, including Indian sandalwood at the Ord River, Acacia mangium on the Tiwi Islands, radiata pine on Kangaroo Island, shining gum in Tasmania, blue gum at Esperance in WA and high value tropical hardwoods in far North Queensland. In order to assess such diverse products efficiently for Lonsec, Roger developed a template for Best Practice in plantation forestry which has now been widely adopted in the industry.

Roger is a graduate (BSc Forestry) from the University of WA (1964) and also has a Diploma of Forestry from the Australian Forestry School (1962) and a Masters degree in forestry from the University of Washington (1968). He is a graduate of the International Course in Forest Management from Oxford University and of the Advanced Management Program from the University of WA.

Roger has also published five books on forestry and forest history, the most recent being Tree Climber – the education of a forester (stories from his life and times) and Old Growth Foresters (biographical essays on famous Australian foresters). He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Foresters in 1988 and has the Australian Fire Service Medal. Roger is shown here with Lonsec’s Don Begbie on a field trip in FNQ.