Fidelity Australian Opportunities Performance Review | News

What is the Fidelity Australian Opportunities fund?

The Fidelity Australian Opportunities invests in a diversified selection of around 40 to 70 Australian companies. The portfolio manager seeks attractive stock mispricings of all types, while avoiding a strong style bias. The portfolio is largely industry neutral with risk and return focused at the stock level. Designed to be a core holding.

Uses a bottom-up stock selection process that seeks companies with superior management, strong free cash flow, a competitive edge and low gearing.’
A diversified selection of 40- 70 Australian companies with the flexibility to take meaningful positions in the mid-small cap part of the market.
Designed to be a core holding.

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Growth of $1000 Investment Over Time

Performance Report

Peer Comparison Report

Latest News & Updates For Fidelity Australian Opportunities

Fidelity Australian Opportunities Fund Commentary June 30, 2023

Security selection in the materials and consumer discretionary sectors added notable value. Fibre cement producer James Hardie Industries reported a 4% growth in its global net sales for the year ending March 2023 and its results were in-line with the guidance. The company has a strong correlation with the US housing market, which is driven by interest rates. Indications that the interest rate cycle in the US may be peaking also supported its share price. The US housing sector remains undersupplied, and James Hardie Industries’ dominant market position supports its margins. Clean energy miner, IGO, tracked the strength in lithium prices, supported by a global decarbonisation theme and a transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The broad-based global strength in the IT sector, led by news flows around developments in AI, buoyed the position in cloud-based end-to-end logistics software provider, WiseTech Global. The recently increased position in franchise operator Collins Foods contributed to returns.

It continues to exhibit acceleration in same store sales growth and margin improvements in its European enterprises which buoyed investors. Conversely, the holding in beverage company, Treasury Wine Estates, slid as it reported mixed operating conditions in its recent trading update and flagged pressures in sales of its low-margin wine. Shares in IDP Education, which is the co-owner of the International English Language Testing System or IELTS, slid after the Canadian immigration authority allowed four additional English language tests, ending IELTS’ monopoly as means of attaining citizenship.

READ HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE COMMENTARIES

Product Snapshot

Performance Review
Product Overview
Peer Comparison
Product Details

Performance Review

Fund Name	Last Month ? Returns after fees in the most recent (last) month).	3 Months Return ? Returns after fees in the most recent 3 months.	1 Year Return ? Trailing 12 month returns.	3 Years Average Return ? Average Annual returns from the last 3 years.	Since Inc. Average Return ? Average (annualised) returns since inception	1 Year Std. Dev. (Annual) ? The standard deviation (or annual volatility) of the last 12 months.	3 Years Std. Dev. (Annual) ? The average standard deviation (or annual volatility) from the last 3 years.	Since Inc. Std. Dev. (Annual) ? The average standard deviation (or annual volatility) since the fund inception.	1 Year Max Drawdown ? The maximum drawdown in the last 12 months - a drawdown is a peak-to-trough decline during a specific period for an investment, trading account, or fund.	3 Year Max Drawdown ? The maximum drawdown in the last 36 months - a drawdown is a peak-to-trough decline during a specific period for an investment, trading account, or fund.	Since Inc. Max Drawdown ? The maximum drawdown since inception - a drawdown is a peak-to-trough decline during a specific period for an investment, trading account, or fund.
Fidelity Australian Opportunities	4.49%	7.5%	21.85%	6.75%	10.85%	11.34%	14.25%	13.14%	-4.4%	-15.53%	-26.13%

Product Overview

Fund Name	APIR Code ? A Product Code is unique a identifier code issued by a group or governing body, to reference products in a large group. For an example, APIR codes are commonly used for Funds and Ticker codes are commonly used for Securities such as ETFs and Stocks.	Structure ?	Asset Class ? An Asset Class breakdown provides the percentages of core asset classes found within a mutual fund, exchange-traded fund, or another portfolio. Asset classes (in microeconomics and beyond) generally refer to broad categories such as equities, fixed income, and commodities.	Asset Category ? An Asset Category is a grouping of investments that exhibit similar characteristics and are subject to the same laws and regulations. Asset categories (or a sub-asset class) are made up of instruments which often behave similarly to one another in the marketplace, looking down to the Asset Category level is important if looking to build a diversified portfolio.	Peer Benchmark Name ? A Peer Index (benchmark) refers to a peer group of investment managers who have the same investment style or category. It is used to compare the performance of one manager to their peer group, which makes it simpler for investors to choose between the vast number of investment managers.	Broad Market Index ? A Market Index (benchmark) refers to a hypothetical portfolio of investments that represents a segment, asset or category of an investable market. Market Indices are used to benchmark managers performance, to assist their style reliability and ability to provide excess returns.	FUM ? Funds/Assets under management (AUM) is the total market value of the investments that a person or entity manages on behalf of clients. Assets under management definitions and formulas vary by company.	Management Fee ? A management fee is a charge levied by an investment manager for managing an investment fund. The management fee is intended to compensate the managers for their time and expertise for selecting finanical products and managing the portfolio.	Performance Fee ? A performance fee is a payment made to an investment manager for generating positive returns. This is as opposed to a management fee, which is charged without regard to returns. A performance fee can be calculated many ways. Most common is as a percentage of investment profits, often both realized and unrealized. It is largely a feature of the hedge fund industry, where performance fees have made many hedge fund managers among the wealthiest people in the world.	Spread ? A spread can have several meanings in finance. Basically, however, they all refer to the difference between two prices, rates or yields. In one of the most common definitions, the spread is the gap between the bid and the ask prices of a security or asset, like a stock, bond or commodity. This is known as a bid-ask spread.
Fidelity Australian Opportunities	FID0021AU	Managed Funds	Domestic Equity	Australia Large Growth	Domestic Equity - Large Growth Index	ASX Index 200 Index	347.44 M	0.85%	0.00%	0.4%

Peer Comparison

Fund Name	Peer Index Name ? A group of individuals who share similar characteristics and interests are called peer groups. Peer group analysis is an essential part of assessing a price for a particular stock in investment research. The emphasis here is on making a comparison, meaning that the peer group constituents should be more or less identical to the company being examined, especially in terms of their main business and market capitalization areas.	12 Months Excess Return ? Excess returns are an important metric that helps an investor to gauge performance in comparison to other investment alternatives. In general, all investors hope for positive excess return because it provides an investor with more money than they could have achieved by investing elsewhere.	Excess Return Annualised Since Inception ? Excess returns are an important metric that helps an investor to gauge performance in comparison to other investment alternatives. In general, all investors hope for positive excess return because it provides an investor with more money than they could have achieved by investing elsewhere.	12 Months Alpha ? Alpha is used in finance as a measure of performance, indicating when a strategy, trader, or portfolio manager has managed to beat the market return over 12 months. Alpha, often considered the active return on an investment, gauges the performance of an investment against a market index or benchmark that is considered to represent the market’s movement as a whole.	Alpha Annualised Since Inception ? Alpha is used in finance as a measure of performance, indicating when a strategy, trader, or portfolio manager has managed to beat the market annualized since inception. Alpha, often considered the active return on an investment, gauges the performance of an investment against a market index or benchmark that is considered to represent the market’s movement as a whole.	12 Months Beta ? Rolling 12Month Beta is a measure of the volatility—or systematic risk—of a security or portfolio compared to the market as a whole. Beta is used in the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), which describes the relationship between systematic risk and expected return for assets (usually stocks).	Beta Annualised Since Inception ? Beta is a measure of the volatility—or systematic risk—of a security or portfolio compared to the market as a whole. Beta is used in the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), which describes the relationship between systematic risk and expected return for assets (usually stocks).	12 Months Tracking Error ? 12Month Tracking error is the difference in actual performance between a position (usually an entire portfolio) and its corresponding benchmark over the last 12 months. The tracking error can be viewed as an indicator of how actively a fund is managed and its corresponding risk level. Evaluating a past tracking error of a portfolio manager may provide insight into the level of benchmark risk control the manager may demonstrate in the future.	Tracking Error Since Inception ? Since Inception tracking error is the difference in actual performance between a position (usually an entire portfolio) and its corresponding benchmark since inception. The tracking error can be viewed as an indicator of how actively a fund is managed and its corresponding risk level. Evaluating a past tracking error of a portfolio manager may provide insight into the level of benchmark risk control the manager may demonstrate in the future.	12 Months Correlation ? Correlation, in the finance and investment industries, is a statistic that measures the degree to which two securities move in relation to each other. Correlations are used in advanced portfolio management, computed as the correlation coefficient, which has a value that must fall between -1.0 and +1.0.	Correlation Since Inception ? Correlation, in the finance and investment industries, is a statistic that measures the degree to which two securities move in relation to each other. Correlations are used in advanced portfolio management, computed as the correlation coefficient, which has a value that must fall between -1.0 and +1.0.
Fidelity Australian Opportunities	Domestic Equity - Large Growth Index	-0.7%	-0.38%	NA%	NA%	NA%	1	2.86%	2.87%	0.97	0.98

Product Details

Fund Name	Verifed by SMSF Mates	Manager Address	Phone	Website	Email
Fidelity Australian Opportunities	Yes		-	https://www.fidelity.com.au/	-

Product Due Diligence

What is Fidelity Australian Opportunities

Fidelity Australian Opportunities is an Managed Funds investment product that is benchmarked against ASX Index 200 Index and sits inside the Domestic Equity - Large Growth 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 Fidelity Australian Opportunities has Assets Under Management of 347.44 M with a management fee of 0.85%, a performance fee of 0.00% and a buy/sell spread fee of 0.4%.

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Historical Performance Commentary

Performance Commentary - March 31, 2023

From 1 October 2022, Casey McLean took over as Lead Portfolio Manager of the Fund and Clare Coleman as Co-portfolio Manager on the Fund. The Fund delivered positive returns but underperformed the index over the quarter. Stock selection in the materials, real estate and consumer staples sectors held back gains. Rising interest rates weighed on the holding in global property and infrastructure developer Lendlease Group.

Specialty biotherapeutics company CSL faced selling pressure along with the rest of the healthcare sector. Shares in sustainable materials producer Calix fell. Investor sentiment was weighed down by the Federal Government’s withdrawal of its grant funding plans for its carbon capture, use and storage (CUSS) programme. The underweight allocation to iron ore miners Rio Tinto held back relative gains. Its shares advanced inline with rising iron ore prices. IGO slid on retreating lithium prices. Its Nova nickel-copper mine has stopped operations after a fire at the power station. It may take several weeks to restore power. On a positive note, the lack of exposure to low-cost hard rock lithium miner Pilbara Minerals proved beneficial as its shares declined in line with lithium peers due to retreating lithium prices. Investors accumulated shares in gold miner Evolution Mining amid rising gold prices and a slowing rate of interest rate increases as indicated by the US Federal Reserve. Elsewhere, the position in leading commercial insurance broker Steadfast Group added value as its shares advanced. Investors cheered its assetlight and scalable business model, with limited underwriting risk bearing. The position in medical device company PolyNovo advanced after it reported record sales volumes, primarily driven by its US business.

Performance Commentary - January 31, 2023

Performance Commentary - December 31, 2022

Performance Commentary - September 30, 2022

Resources held back gains Within energy, the lack of exposure to coal miner Whitehaven Coal held back relative returns as its shares advanced in light of surging coal prices. With materials, Nickel producer Nickel Industries declined despite releasing in-line results. Investors remain concerned about its margin compression due to the resilience in thermal coal prices. Nevertheless, its earnings will continue to grow as its higher volume and margin stability thesis remains intact over the long term. Within materials, lithium prices reached record levels as supportive EV polices globally continued to support demand, while recent heat wavedriven power cuts in China negatively impacted supply in an already tight market environment. As such, the lack of exposure to lithium and tantalite mining company Pilbara Minerals held back relative gains. Conversely, these gains were partially offset by the position in IGO as surging lithium prices buoyed the position in clean energy focused miner.

Short-term weakness in structural growth winners Rising interest rates weighed on the position in industrial property manager Goodman Group; its shares declined in line with the broader real estate sector. Nevertheless, Goodman has quality assets and a strong balance sheet position, coupled with ongoing structural growth opportunities. Markets sold down travel shares amid concerns over rising cost of living and the subsequent impact on tourism. Consequently, the holding in offline travel agent Flight Centre Travel declined.

Robust stock picking added value Cloud-based end-to-end logistics software provider WiseTech Global advanced as it delivered promising results and robust guidance. It is a capital light business that enjoys self-funding from cash flows and is underpinned by large economies of scale and a strong balance sheet position. The conviction position in global specialty biotherapeutics company CSL outperformed the broader market amid investors’ preference for defensive health care stocks. The lack of exposure to toll road operator Transurban Group contributed to performance. Its shares declined as it announced disappointing dividend guidance.

Performance Commentary - June 30, 2022

Performance Commentary - March 31, 2021

Performance Commentary - December 31, 2020

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Fidelity Australian Opportunities (FID0021AU) Report & Performance