For those interested in what the institutional gnomes do, I...

For those interested in what the institutional gnomes do, I paste below words cut from another subforum. It is the kind of stuff in which I have only mild academic interest, because I personally tend to focus on fundamental metrics, plus company-specific soft factors like management ability, style and ethics.

Pioupiou

Interesting article on the Fin today


Transitions dominate equities desks, dealing rooms

• Mar 8 2019 at 12:15 AM
• Updated Mar 8 2019 at 12:15 AM
• Sarah Thompson , Anthony Macdonald

• chunky transition portfolios washing through the market that are propping up some stocks, hurting others and showing who in funds management land is in and out of the money.
  
  Importantly, the trading reveals there are some big redemptions out there in fund manager land. Equities desks are pointing to industry super giant CBUS as the most likely to be asking for its money back, as it steps up in-housing of its stockpicking with the aim of lowering its overall management fee. This time it is small caps, where CBUS has ex-Antares Capital fundie Paul Dewar on board to set up and run its strategy.
  
  As always, which fund managers are bleeding funds is a closely guarded secret.
  
  In small caps land, brokers reckon Adam Smith Asset Management and Kinetic have been leading the selling, and their key holdings have felt the pain. JCP Investment Partners is another said to be hurting.
  
  Brokers are also quick to point to substantial shareholder notices, which show Perpetual has been selling a number of its big positions.
  
  Perpetual has cut its stakes in Viva Energy, Qube, Select Harvests, Reece, Premier Investments, New Hope Coal, Event Hospitality and Entertainment and Estia Health recently, while Paradice Investment Management has been selling Cleanaway and Iluka Resources.
  
  It could just be trading based on recent results and outlook statements – but brokers reckon it looks like more.
  
  The transition portfolios mean block trades are accounting for a bigger share of daily trade than you would normally expect. One stock brokers reckon is worth watching is Treasury Wine Estates which, unusually, has seen big selling matched by keen buying.