Zurich Investments Australian Property Securities aims to provide investors with an income stream and capital growth over the medium to long term and to outperform the S&P/ASX 300 AREIT Accumulation Index over a period of five years. The Fund invests in a range of listed property securities, spread primarily across retail, commercial, industrial and residential property sectors. The Fund suits investors seeking exposure to Australia’s diverse property market, through investing in property trusts listed on the ASX.
The Fund fell with the market over the September quarter but was ahead of the index return by 0.42%. Calendar year-to-date, the Fund has edged ahead of the positive index return.
Underweight positions that contributed positively in the quarter included Charter Hall Long WALE, Waypoint, Cromwell Property Group and Region Group. The long WALE stocks (Chater Hall Long WALE and Waypoint) tend to be more sensitive to bond yields, though were also impacted after management guided to lower earnings. In addition, these stocks have elevated gearing. Cromwell underperformed as it is highly leveraged, has high office exposure, and the business is also exposed to Europe via its European funds management business. Convenience retailer, Region Group, fell after it guided to lower earnings.
The underweight position in Goodman Group detracted over the quarter after the stock rose following the announcement that the company will start to develop, own, and manage data centres.
The overweight position in GDI Property Group detracted. GDI Property Group continues to be hampered by slower leasing in Perth and
the market remains concerned about its exposure to office and stubbornly high vacancy.
At quarter end the investment team increased exposure to office stocks via Growthpoint, Abacus Group. Dexus and Centuria Office, as these names have underperformed and trade at meaningful discounts to Net Tangible Assets (NTA). Exposure to the fund managers was also increased via Charter Hall Group and Centuria Group following significant underperformance
Exposure was reduced to Homeco Health and Wellness, Homeco Daily Needs, Unibail. Dexus Industria and Vicinity Homeco Health and Wellness significantly outperformed the market an index inclusion and is now one of the more expensive stocks in the sector. Homeco Daily Needs also outperformed on Index upweighting. The overweight to Unibail was trimmed slightly on outperformance Dexus Industria was used as a funding tool for much better value in the office and fund manager names. Vicinity was trimmed on continued outperformance
Abacus demerged during the quarter forming Abacus Group and Abacus Storage King. The demerger saw the Fund move from a 0.25% overweight in Abacus to a 0.10% overweight in the two demerged vehicles.
What is Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs is an Managed Funds investment product that is benchmarked against ASX Index 200 A-REIT Index and sits inside the Property - Australian Listed Property 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 Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs has Assets Under Management of 274.83 M with a management fee of 0.81%, a performance fee of 0 and a buy/sell spread fee of 0.6%.
How has the investment product performed recently?
The recent investment performance of the investment product shows that the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs has returned 6.47% in the last month. The previous three years have returned 9.13% annualised and 17.92% each year since inception, which is when the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs 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 Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs first started, the Sharpe ratio is NA with an annualised volatility of 17.92%. The maximum drawdown of the investment product in the last 12 months is -6.67% and -73% 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 Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs has a 12-month excess return when compared to the Property - Australian Listed Property Index of 1.82% and -0.19% 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. Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs has produced Alpha over the Property - Australian Listed Property 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 Property - Australian Listed Property Index category, you can click here for the Peer Investment Report.
What level of diversification will Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs provide?
Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs has a correlation coefficient of 0.98 and a beta of 0.99 when compared to the Property - Australian Listed Property 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 Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs and its peer investments, you can click here for the Peer Investment Report.
How do I compare the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs with the ASX Index 200 A-REIT Index?
For a full quantitative report on Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs compared to the ASX Index 200 A-REIT Index, you can click here.
Can I sort and compare the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs to do my own analysis?
To sort and compare the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs financial metrics, please refer to the table above.
Has the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs 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.
How can I invest in Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs?
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Comments from SMSF Mates
SMSF Mate does not receive commissions or kickbacks from the Zurich Investments Aus Property Secs. All data and commentary for this fund is provided free of charge for our readers general information.
Performance Commentary - August 31, 2023 The Fund produced a solid return of 2.18% in August which was in line with the index return. For the 12 months to 31 August 2023, the Fund is ahead of the strong index return.
Underweight positions that contributed positively in August included the long WALE stocks, Region Group, Centuria, Growthpoint, Dexus and Cromwell. The long WALE stocks (Chater Hall Long WALE, Waypoint, and Charter Hall Education) fell after management guided to lower earnings. In addition, these stocks have elevated gearing. Convenience retailer, Region Group, fell after it guided to lower earnings. Similarly, Centuria fell after guiding to a significant fall in earnings. Office stocks, Growthpoint, Dexus and Cromwell, all contributed positively post earnings downgrades and gearing concerns for Cromwell and Growthpoint.
The underweight to Goodman Group detracted after the stocks rose following the announcement that the company will start to develop, own, and manage data centres. Overweight positions that detracted from performance included deep value holdings – GDI Property Group, Unibail and Finbar. GDI Property Group continues to be hampered by slower leasing in Perth. Unibail was impacted by its high gearing and limited progress on asset sales. Finbar was impacted by slow apartment sales.
During August the investment team added to Charter Hall Group after significant underperformance and a rebasing of earnings. National Storage was also increased, although it remains an underweight position, as it underperformed on the back of very weak performance of US self-storage companies.
Exposure to Scentre, Vicinity and Unibail was reduced as these stocks have outperformed in recent months. The Fund remains overweight in all three names; however, the retail environment is expected to remain under pressure in the short term due to a constrained consumer. HMC Capital was also reduced as it has significantly outperformed the market.
Performance Commentary - July 31, 2023 The Fund produced a solid return of 4.08% in July which was ahead of the strong index return. For the 12 months to 31 July 2023, the Fund has produced a positive absolute return which is ahead of the negative index return.
The main positive contributors included the overweight to Unibail and Scentre which are generally oversold and perceived as beneficiaries of falling interest rates.
Underweight positions that contributed positively included National Storage and Goodman Group. National Storage underperformed due to switching into Abacus Storage. Fund manager, Goodman Group, fell as investors sought out less expensive names.
The main detractors from performance included the overweight in Carindale which interestingly underperformed even though all the other mall trusts outperformed. The stock has relatively low liquidity which may explain the price fall in July.
Underweight positions in Region and Rural Funds detracted. Both names outperformed as investors bought previous underperformers as they see the interest rate environment changing.
Performance Commentary - June 30, 2023 The Fund produced a solid return of 2.17% in the June quarter but was unable to outpace the strong index return of 3.15%.
The top contributors to performance in the quarter included underweight positions in Charter Hall Long WALE, National Storage REIT, Rural Funds Group and Region Group. Charter Hall Long WALE underperformed in June after announcing a 5.8% fall in assets values. National Storage underperformed after announcing that revenue per available square meter fell in April and May. Rural Funds underperformed because some of its commodities (Almonds and Macadamias) encountered difficult trading conditions. Region underperformed post several broker downgrades that highlighted expenses were growing faster than revenue.
The top detractors from performance included overweight positions in Scentre, Carindale, Unibail, Vicinity, GDI and Aspen. The malls stocks, Scentre, Carindale, Unibail and Vicinity, all detracted from performance as the market has become concerned about a slowdown in retail sales. In addition, several retailers announced soft trading updates during the quarter. GDI is a deep value position that suffers from being exposed to office. Additionally, at the end of the quarter, it was announced that the former CEO had 8m shares called as collateral for a margin loan which put short-term selling pressure on the stock. The investment team believes that GDI is trading at a very attractive yield and discount to Net Tangible Assets. Aspen underperformed on the back of profit taking. Despite the negative share price performance at quarter end, Aspen continues to perform strongly with management providing a positive business and valuation update in June.
Underweight positions that detracted from performance included Goodman Group and Centuria Capital. The underweight in Goodman Group detracted as the stock outperformed after management upgraded earnings guidance. Goodman also benefited in the quarter from “defensive” buying and the company’s announcement that it intends to move into the data centre funds management space.
At the end of the quarter the investment team continued to trim Stockland as interest rates are expected to continue to rise and stay higher for longer. The rate rises may negatively impact house prices, which are expected to stall or fall again later this year.
On the buying, exposure to GDI was increased at quarter end. The stock has been trading at a very attractive price-to-earnings ratio and is at significant discount to net tangible assets. Finally, exposure to HomeCo Health and Wellness was trimmed after it outperformed the market on the expectation of index inclusion and positive revaluations.
Performance Commentary - May 31, 2023 The Fund fell with the market in May, though was unable to outperform the index return.
The main positive contributors included the underweight in Rural Funds which underperformed because some of its commodities (Almonds and Macadamias) have encountered difficult trading conditions. Other underweight positions that contributed positively included Bunnings, Growthpoint and GPT.
Overweight positions that contributed positively included Homeco Health & Wellness and Aspen. Homeco Health & Wellness recouped some of the underperformance in the previous month following the cap raise for the Healthscope acquisition. Aspen continues to benefit from the trend towards affordable housing.
The overweights in malls stocks, Unibail, Scentre, Vicinity and Carindale, all detracted from performance as the market has become concerned about a slowdown in retail sales. In addition, several retailers announced soft trading updates in recent weeks.
Underweight positions that detracted from performance included Goodman Group and Dexus. Goodman Group outperformed after the company upgraded earnings guidance. Office stocks generally outperformed, including Dexus, as most portfolios showed resilient occupancy in their updates.
Overweight positions that were trimmed included Scentre, Stockland, Ingenia and Aspen. Scentre was decreased to reduce the Fund’s mall exposure as discretionary sales begin to slow and in favour of other stocks that have become heavily discounted. Stockland was reduced given its strong performance since the end of February. Ingenia was trimmed as it has rallied and became more expensive post its earnings downgrade. Aspen was reduced as it has been a strong performer.
The underweight in Charter Hall Group was reduced as the stock has been a heavy underperformer and it is trading at a much lower multiple, albeit with some earnings risk. The underweight in Dexus was similarly reduced as the stock has underperformed due to the market’s negative sentiment towards office, and the discount to net tangible assets has opened to approximately 30%.
Performance Commentary - April 30, 2023 The Fund produced a solid return of 4.83% in April but was slightly behind the strong index return. For the 12 months to 30 April 2023, the Fund is comfortably ahead of the index return.
Overweights that contributed positively to performance included Stockland which outperformed on the back of the RBA pause and amid market expectations that house prices and volumes will increase.
Underweights that contributed positively included National Storage, Goodman and Waypoint. National Storage underperformed after strong outperformance in recent months and a large capital raise in March. Goodman underperformed as investors switched into more laggard funds management names. Waypoint underperformed following buyback-driven outperformance and as investors rotated into inexpensive, more interest rate sensitive names.
Overweight positions that contributed negatively to performance were Carindale, GDI and Aspen. All of these stocks are small companies that got left behind in the rally that was focused on residential developers and fund managers. Unibail was similarly affected. In addition, mall landlords Carindale and Unibail may be suffering from rotation away from retail exposed names. GDI also appears to be caught up in the negative sentiment for office.
Underweights that detracted from performance included Mirvac and Centuria. Mirvac outperformed on the back of the pause in rate rises by the RBA and a positive outlook for house prices and volumes. Centuria recovered from selling in previous months and also benefited from takeover rumours.
The Fund reduced exposure to National Storage and Goodman early in the month on the back of recent outperformance, with both stocks trading at relatively high valuation multiples.
Performance Commentary - March 31, 2023 The Fund edged ahead in the March quarter and outperformed the index return. For the 12 months to 31 March 2023, the Fund is comfortably ahead of the index return.
Overweight positions that contributed positively included Unibail and Carindale. Unibail benefited from a falling interest rate outlook, improving cost of living in Europe, and progress on US asset sales. Unibail also performed well after the company surprised on earnings and guidance for 2023. Carindale delivered a solid result during the quarter and has benefited from being inexpensive relative to other mall owners. The stock also benefited from being deep value and subsequently fell less than the index towards the end of the quarter.
Underweight positions that contributed positively included Region, Rural Funds and Cromwell Property. Region guided to lower earnings driven by increasing interest costs. Rural Funds contributed positively after announcing lower earnings that were driven by slower lease up on farms than the market expected. Cromwell Property contributed positively after earnings fell due to interest costs and announcing delays to strategy implementation due to market conditions. The stock also underperformed on the back of increasing concern around office assets due to high vacancy, uncertainty around the level of return to office and increasing evidence of falling values.
Overweight positions that detracted from performance included Scentre and Ingenia Communities. Scentre underperformed in the very strong market at the start of the quarter and was left behind by the surging fund managers that benefited from the switch into more growth orientated names on optimism around falling interest rates. Ingenia detracted as management downgraded earnings on the back of weaker sales and settlements.
The underweight position in Goodman detracted as it is viewed as a beneficiary of falling interest rates. The company also benefited from a strong update by US comparable, Prologis. Lastly, Goodman is benefiting from the strength of industrial and well above sector earnings growth. Goodman remains an underweight position given its relatively elevated valuation.
Performance Commentary - February 28, 2023 The Fund fell marginally in February but edged ahead of the negative index return. Overweight positions that contributed positively to performance during the month included Carindale and Unibail. Carindale delivered a solid result and has benefited from being inexpensive relative to other mall owners. Unibail performed well after the company surprised on earnings and guidance for 2023. Underweight positions that contributed positively included Region and Charter Hall Education, as both names guided to lower earnings driven by increasing interest costs. Other underweight positions that contributed positively included Rural Funds, Cromwell Property, Charter Hall and Centuria Capital. Rural Funds contributed positively after announcing lower earnings that were driven by slower lease up on farms than the market expected. Cromwell contributed positively after earnings fell due to interest costs and announcing delays to strategy implementation due to market conditions.
The fund managers, Charter Hall and Centuria Capital, both contributed positively after providing guidance that was below consensus. Both companies also experienced falling equity flows and transaction volumes. Overweight positions that detracted from performance included Ingenia Communities and GDI Property. Ingenia detracted as management downgraded earnings on the back of weaker sales and settlements. The reason behind GDI’s underperformance wasn’t obvious, other than it is an office stock and got caught up in the negative sentiment for the sub-sector. Underweights that detracted from performance included National Storage and Arena. National Storage performed well after management upgraded earnings guidance and announced solid REVPAM (group revenue per available metre) growth. Arena’s stock performed well after the company delivered positive earnings growth due to strong CPI reviews over most of its portfolio. The Fund reduced exposure to Stockland during February because of a soft residential market and after it significantly outperformed Mirvac, which announced a very soft residential result.
The overweight in Vicinity was reduced following significant outperformance, plus the investment team has become more cautious on the consumer. The underweight in Charter Hall was increased after its strong rebound over the last couple of months. Additionally, asset values are anticipated to fall over the next 12 months which will negatively impact the business.
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