Fund Objective: The Rivkin Global Equity Fund aims to produce positive average annual returns while seeking to maintain a level of volatility lower than that of the MSCI World ex Australia 100% Hedged to AUD Index over the same investment period.
31 December 2019 Unit Price – A$0.9661
Welcome investors to the monthly update for the Rivkin Global Equity Fund (GEF) for December 2019. Following a gain of 2.58% in November, the NAV price for the Rivkin GEF gained 3.32% throughout December, finishing the month at 0.9661. This compares to a gain of 2.30% for the MSCI World ex-Australia Index. For 2019, the GEF was up 11.82%.
Monthly Commentary
Performance of the GEF continues to be strong with the NAV up 3.32% for the month of December. This rounds out a solid 11.82% return for calendar year 2019. Much of this return came in the final quarter of the year, following the tweaks we made to the portfolio to shift exposure solely to the US and reduce the total number of holdings. We are pleased to see these changes are starting to bear fruit and hope to see continued strong performance into 2020.
The sector composition of the fund saw some significant changes during the month with a switch out of Financials and Consumer Discretionary and into Information Technology. Information technology is now by far our largest sector exposure at 41.2% of the fund while Consumer Discretionary is second at 25.1%. Some of the more known Information Technology stocks we hold includes Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA) and IBM (IBM). AAPL, in particular, has been a strong contributor to portfolio performance, gaining 13.1% from our average buy price in early November to the end of the year. Graphics card chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has also provided strong returns since early November with our current gain sitting at 20.4%.
Going into the new year, geopolitical tensions concerning Iran and the US are looking likely to be the main driving force for markets for at least the first couple of weeks. Later in January, we expect to get a resolution for Brexit with the UK very likely to leave the EU by 31 January. Interest rates will again be a key theme for the year with Australia currently still at record low rates while the recent trajectory of US rates has been down.
We have recently made minor tweaks to our strategies that will affect the number of holdings in the fund. This has reduced our number of holdings from 40 at the end of November to 34 at the end of December. We may see slightly more volatility as a side effect but we believe it is more than compensated by the higher expected return. We thank all investors for being with us in 2019 and look forward to a strong 2020.
If you have any questions regarding the above or your investments with Rivkin in general, please call us on 02 8302 3605.
Performance
NAV Price Chart
Monthly Returns
Portfolio Composition
Sector Breakdown
Top 10 Stock Holdings
Strategy Weighting
Fund Description & Information
The Fund invests predominantly in listed Global companies listed on developed market exchanges whose characteristics satisfy one or more of the strategies that occupy the portfolio. These strategies include: Momentum, being securities that are enjoying positive price trends; Quality, being companies with robust earnings profiles that are priced favourably versus their peers; and Defensive, being securities that provide a combination of characteristics including fixed income or high yield returns, negative or low short-term correlation to risk markets like equities or outcomes that we consider to be market-neutral. The Fund operates within the context of a rules-based framework that encourages a disciplined, long-term approach to equity exposure among developed global markets.
Important Disclaimer
The Rivkin Global Equity Fund is available to wholesale investors only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The value of your investment may rise and fall, and you may not receive the amount originally invested.
Contact
Thomas Silitonga – Director, Rivkin Asset Management
thomas.silitonga@rivkin.com.au – +612 8302 3605
