The Funds are managed by BLSEM, led by Chief Investment Officer Richard Fish, and supported by a team of three investment professionals: Sam Shepherd (Senior Portfolio Manager), Sam Taylor (Senior Analyst) and Steven Lambeth (Senior Analyst).
Zenith notes that BLSEM's investment process is intuitive and relies heavily on the skills and experience of the portfolio management team. A key feature of the portfolio is the stability of pairs and the limited instances where a stock transitions from long to short, and vice versa. Zenith believes this reinforces the quality of BLSEM's fundamental research and ability to hold firm when positions are moving against them.
The Funds use a qualitative bottom-up stock selection approach to build a diversified market neutral portfolio of pair trades based on the relative mispricing of Australian securities. Zenith considers the Funds to be premium offerings in the Australian market neutral sector, which provide access to Richard's considerable stock selection skills. Zenith considers Richard to be an impressive investor with deep market awareness who demonstrates a strong ability to isolate the key drivers of stock performance.
BLSEM was founded in 2002 as a joint venture between Richard and Bennelong Funds Management (Bennelong), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bangarra Group. As at 30 April 2016, BLSEM had approximately $638 million in funds under management (FUM). The Funds were soft closed from late November 2015.
Disclaimer: The Zenith Investment Partners (“Zenith”) Australian Financial Services License No. 226872 rating (assigned May 2016) referred to in this document is limited to “General Advice” (as defined by the Corporations Act 2001) for Wholesale clients only. This advice has been prepared without taking into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any individual. It is not a specific recommendation to purchase, sell or hold the relevant product(s). Investors should seek independent financial advice before making an investment decision and should consider the appropriateness of this advice in light of their own objectives, financial situation and needs. Investors should obtain a copy of, and consider the PDS or offer document before making any decision and refer to the full Zenith Product Assessment available on the Zenith website. Zenith usually charges the product issuer, fund manager or a related party to conduct Product Assessments. Full details regarding Zenith’s methodology, ratings definitions and regulatory compliance are available on our Product Assessment’s and at http://www.zenithpartners.com.au/RegulatoryGuideline