As at 30 September 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.2% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.8% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 10.5% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.7% p.a.2 The Fund delivered a cash distribution of 2.23cpu with 0.96cpu of franking credits attached at the end of September, bringing the 12mth gross income to 8.7%.
The Australian market fell 2.6% (including franking credits) in September as 10yr bond yield rose from 4.03% to 4.49%, impacting equity valuations. This rise in bond yields occurred due to a mix of higher oil prices and the perceived need for Central Banks to keep interest rates higher for longer to contain inflation. The best performing sectors were Energy (+2.2%) and Financials (-1.6%), which are sectors that tend to hold up better in a higher inflation, higher interest rate environment. In contrast, sectors that are more exposed to a rise in bond yields such as Property (-8.5%), Technology (-7.7%) and Healthcare (-6.4%) underperformed.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month were overweight positions in BHP, QBE Insurance and New Hope as well as underweight positions in Xero and James Hardie. However, an overweight position in CSL as well as underweight positions in Fortescue, Rio Tinto, Paladin and Treasury Wines detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark.
What is Plato Australian Shares Income Plato Australian Shares Income is an Managed Funds investment product that is benchmarked against ASX Index 200 Index and sits inside the Domestic Equity - Large Cap Dividend Index. Think of a benchmark as a standard where investment performance can be measured. Typically, market indices like the ASX200 and market-segment stock indexes are used for this purpose. The Plato Australian Shares Income has Assets Under Management of 1.79 BN with a management fee of 0.9%, a performance fee of 0.00% and a buy/sell spread fee of 0.2%.
How has the investment product performed recently? The recent investment performance of the investment product shows that the Plato Australian Shares Income has returned -0.05% in the last month. The previous three years have returned 6.9% annualised and 13.04% each year since inception, which is when the Plato Australian Shares Income first started.
How is risk measured in this investment product? There are many ways that the risk of an investment product can be measured, and each measurement provides a different insight into the risk present. They can be used on their own or together to perform a risk assessment before investing, but when comparing investments, it is common to compare like for like risk measurements to determine which investment holds the most risk. Since Plato Australian Shares Income first started, the Sharpe ratio is NA with an annualised volatility of 13.04%. The maximum drawdown of the investment product in the last 12 months is -6.03% and -26.44% since inception. The maximum drawdown is defined as the high-to-low decline of an investment during a particular time period.
What is the relative performance of the investment product? Relative performance is what an asset achieves over a period of time compared to similar investments or its peers. Relative return is a measure of the asset's performance compared to the return to the other investment. The Plato Australian Shares Income has a 12-month excess return when compared to the Domestic Equity - Large Cap Dividend Index of 2.83% and 0.17% since inception.
Does the investment product produce Alpha over its Peers? Alpha is an investing term used to measure an investment's outperformance relative to a market benchmark or peer investment. Alpha describes the excess return generated when compared to peer investment. Plato Australian Shares Income has produced Alpha over the Domestic Equity - Large Cap Dividend Index of NA% in the last 12 months and NA% since inception.
What are similar investment products? For a full list of investment products in the Domestic Equity - Large Cap Dividend Index category, you can click here for the Peer Investment Report.
What level of diversification will Plato Australian Shares Income provide? Plato Australian Shares Income has a correlation coefficient of 0.99 and a beta of 1.11 when compared to the Domestic Equity - Large Cap Dividend Index. Correlation measures how similarly two investments move in relation to one another. This establishes a 'correlation coefficient', which has a value between -1.0 and +1.0. A 100% correlation between two investments means that the correlation coefficient is +1. Beta in investments measures how much the price moves relative to the broader market over a period of time. If the investment moves more than the broader market, it has a beta above 1.0. If it moves less than the broader market, then the beta is less than 1.0. Investments with a high beta tend to carry more risk but have the potential to deliver higher returns.
How do I compare the investment product with its peers? For a full quantitative report on Plato Australian Shares Income and its peer investments, you can click here for the Peer Investment Report.
How do I compare the Plato Australian Shares Income with the ASX Index 200 Index? For a full quantitative report on Plato Australian Shares Income compared to the ASX Index 200 Index, you can click here.
Can I sort and compare the Plato Australian Shares Income to do my own analysis? To sort and compare the Plato Australian Shares Income financial metrics, please refer to the table above.
Has the Plato Australian Shares Income been independently verified by SMSF Mate? This investment product is in the process of being independently verified by SMSF Mate. Once we have verified the investment product, you will be able to find more information here.
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Performance Commentary - August 31, 2023 As at 31 August 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.5% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.6% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 10.8% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.6% p.a.2
The Australian market fell 0.5% in August after the fall in sentiment towards Chinese economic growth provided a headwind for Australian mining stocks. The best performing sector of Australia’s August reporting season was consumer discretionary (+5.8%) whose results were generally more resilient than the low expectations that were built into stock prices. Real Estate (1.6%) also outperformed after a strong result from Goodman Group in which it reported that the strong demand for data centres would be a focus for its developments going forward. In contrast, the normally defensive Utilities (- 3.8%) and Consumer Staples (-3.1%) underperformed after generally posting disappointing results in part due to higher interest costs.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month were overweight positions in Wesfarmers and Carsales which both had strong results as well as underweight positions in Transurban, Wisetech and South32.
However, overweight positions in Telstra, QBE Insurance, Suncorp and Graincorp as well as an underweight position in James Hardie detracted from relative performance. The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark.
Performance Commentary - July 31, 2023 As at 31 July 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.6% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.7% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 10.9% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.6% p.a.2
The Australian market rose 2.9% in July after lower than expected inflation prints in the U.S. and Australia reduced the risk of further rate hikes. The cyclical sectors of Energy (+8.4%) and Banks (+6.5%) outperformed on increased hopes of a soft landing or even a “no landing” where inflation can return to central bank targets without requiring a recession. In contrast, Healthcare (-1.5%) continued its underperformance as Ansell issued disappointing guidance and Consumer Staples (-1.0%) also lagged.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month was overweight positions in Suncorp, Computershare and Ampol as well as underweight positions in Allkem and Endeavour. However, overweight positions in Telstra, Woolworths, CSL and Independence Group as well as an underweight position in Evolution Mining detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark.
Performance Commentary - June 30, 2023 As at 30 June 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.4% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.8% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 10.8% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.7% p.a.2 The Fund delivered a cash distribution of 1.51cpu with 0.69cpu of franking credits attached at the end of June, bringing the 12mth gross income to 8.9%.
The Australian market rose 1.8% in June, even after a surprise hike from the RBA and an increase in hawkish rhetoric resulting in an increase of 42bps in the 10yr bond yield to above 4%. Economic data announced during the month was strong with 76k jobs created and the unemployment rate dropping to 3.6%.
Official retail sales also rose by a strong 0.7% in May despite a number of consumer discretionary companies announcing profit warnings during the month. This is a sector where investors need to be careful in the current market environment. Materials (+4.8%) stocks outperformed as once again Chinese officials hinted at more stimulus. Technology (+3.5%) also performed well following the lead of A.I. themed US Technology stocks despite the rally in bond yields. In contrast, Healthcare (-6.6%) underperformed after CSL reset analyst expectations lower for their growth prospects in FY24.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month was overweight positions in Whitehaven Coal, QBE Insurance, Macquarie and Collins Food as well as an underweight position in ASX. However, overweight positions in CSL and Telstra as well as underweight positions in Xero, AGL Energy and Wisetech detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark.
Performance Commentary - May 31, 2023 As at 31 May 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.3% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.7% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 10.7% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.7% p.a.2
The Australian market fell 2.5% in May, as signs emerged of a slowdown in consumer spending from stocks such as Wesfarmers. As a result, the Consumer Discretionary (-6.2%) and Consumer Staples (-4.5%) sectors underperformed along with Materials (-4.4%) after a 9.4% fall in the iron ore price. In contrast, Technology (+10.4%) outperformed after strong earnings forecasts from U.S. stock Nvidia, which is benefiting from the increased popularity of artificial intelligence. After pausing in April, the RBA surprised the market by returning to its hiking cycle in May, resulting in a 27bp increase in the Australian 10yr bond yield.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month was an overweight position in Graincorp as well as underweight positions in Fortescue, Wesfarmers, Treasury Wines and IDP Education. However, an overweight position in Whitehaven Coal as well as underweight positions in Xero, Allkem, James Hardie and Wisetech detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark. After a very strong annual yield in FY22, we expect the gross income produced by the Fund in FY23 to return to a more normal level of 9%.
Performance Commentary - April 30, 2023 As at 30 April 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.7% p.a.2 and a yield of 9.7% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 11.0% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.7% p.a.2
The Australian market rose 1.9% in April, led by the strong returns in property stocks Mirvac (+16%) and Stockland (+12%) which were likely supported by the second straight monthly rise in Australian house prices. Technology and Industrials sectors also performed well in contrast to Materials, which was the only sector to have a negative return during the month. Iron ore fell 8.5% during April after concerns over Chinese growth prospects increased, putting pressure on iron ore producers. After 10 interest rate hikes in a row, the RBA paused in April but then surprised the market by returning to its hiking cycle in May.
Headline inflation looks to have peaked but services inflation, particularly rent, education and health remained stubbornly high in the Q1 inflation report. The recent increase in interest rates has not reduced the appetite for takeovers with Japanese firm, Kirin, launching a takeover bid for Blackmores at $95 per share.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month were overweight positions in Macquarie, QBE Insurance, Telstra and CSL as well as an underweight position in Fortescue. However, overweight positions in Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources as well as underweight positions in Mirvac, Stockland and Telix Pharmaceuticals detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark. After a very strong annual yield in FY22, we expect the gross income produced by the Fund in FY23 to return to a more normal level of 9%.
Performance Commentary - March 31, 2023 As at 31 March 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.7% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.8% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 10.9% p.a.2 and a yield of 5.7% p.a.2
The Australian market was largely flat in March, lagging global markets which rose despite the failure of multiple U.S. banks and the hastily arranged takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. This mini-crisis, which caused the market to fall intramonth, was partially caused by the reduction in bond prices which caused the balance sheets of some banks to weaken, leading to a bank run in the case of Silicon Valley Bank. In order to stop contagion, the U.S. Federal Reserve set up a facility during the month to provide liquidity to banks and confidence to depositors, particularly in small regional banks. This facility, as well as the reduction in bond yields led to a rally late in the month, leaving the S&P/ASX 200 index (including franking credits) up 0.2% in March. Materials and Communication Services were the best performing sectors in contrast to Real Estate and Financials which underperformed.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month were overweight positions in BHP, Northern Star and Telstra as well as an underweight position in Lynas. However, overweight positions in Charter Hall and Computershare as well as underweight positions in Liontown, Newcrest and Xero detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark. After a very strong annual yield in FY22, we expect the gross income produced by the Fund in FY23 to return to a more normal level of 9%.
Performance Commentary - February 28, 2023 As at 28 February 2023, the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (‘Fund’) delivered a total return of 11.8% p.a.2 (after fees) and a yield of 9.7% p.a.2 (incl. franking) since inception1 compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) (‘Benchmark’) return of 11.0% p.a. and a yield of 5.6% p.a.
The Australian market fell 2.3% in February, in line with the global markets as bond yields rose strong in response to strong economic data and sentiment regarding the Chinese recovery which fell along with a strong U.S. dollar that put pressure on resource names. Utilities and Technology were the best performing sectors in contrast to Financials and Materials which underperformed. Within financials, insurers outperformed but banks fell after Commonwealth Bank reported its half-yearly result. While it was strong at the aggregate level, CBA reported that Net Interest Margins peaked in October as mortgage competition heated up, implying that banks were no longer seeing additional margin benefits from interest rate rises.
The largest positive contributors to the Fund’s performance during the month were overweight positions in QBE Insurance, Telstra and Medibank as well as underweight positions in Rio Tinto and Dominoes. However, overweight positions in BHP, Northern Star and Whitehaven Coal as well as underweight positions in Transurban and Cochlear detracted from relative performance.
The Fund remains actively positioned to seek superior income than the benchmark. After a very strong annual yield in FY22, we expect the gross income produced by the Fund in FY23 to return to a more normal level of 9%.
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