I’d be interested in your thoughts regarding LIC managers. I guess its a case of how long is a piece of string ?
From a personal perspective, I would be more interested in your opinion on the quality and integrity of the manager, and how good a stockpicker he or she is, rather that trying to pick one that is in the top 1%.
I guess that if he or she fits the first stated qualities, then the latter will follow.
OK, I think I get you. You want to know who I like best and why? I'll preface this by saying that the following list is based on those running a LIC/LIT. There may be some which I like in a managed fund format but not in a listed vehicle. Also, this is what I see as my 'best of' list as fund managers over the long term. There are others I like, just not as much. And this has no bearing on where they are currently trading at relative to NTA or where they are at currently in dividend return as some have yet to spool up fully.
In no particular order....
Australian equities:
WAM, WAX, WMI - Chris Stott and his team are quality stockpickers. They have been moulded by Geoff over the course of years into utilising the dual fundamental and arbitrage/trading approach to great effect. The team are disciplined both in taking profits and cutting losers and acknowledging and learning when they get it wrong. More broadly, all the Wilson vehicles are best in class for market engagement. Note that I have less conviction currently in WAA, CYA, WGB, WLE. Also, I like FGX as a concept as a more 'all weather' portfolio, but personally I prefer to blend my own. But a lot to like. (I hold WMI)
PIC - Got off to a rough start, but Perpetual has a highly consistent record of turning out high quality managers. Vince Pezzullo and the team he leverages off are well grounded in Perpetual's investment process, which I see as high quality. They have realised they needed to refocus on the listed vehicle rather than just seeing it as plug and play. As a result, market engagement is much better.
Global Equities
APL - Jacob Mitchel and the team he has built considered very capable in the L/S space. More active on shorting than his former shop at PMC. Solid understanding of the need for market engagement. Rapid team growth somewhat a concern regarding cohesion, but Jacob is well versed in handling this sort of thing. (I hold the strategy in the fund version)
MGG - Hamish and the large team at Magellan still considered very highly. Dual portfolio management structure with Stefan Marcionetti a bit of an unknown, but Hamish sees it valuable as he uses Stefan as a reality check. Some concerns about the large tech exposure, but they have spent a hell of a lot of time on it and few Australian based managers I have come across are as knowledgeable. I would have preferred that they spend a bit more time on shareholder engagement for MGG as it tends to be a bit diluted by efforts across the whole suite. But a quality shop. (I hold the strategy in the fund version)
VG1 - I really like these guys. Very iconoclastic, but very focussed, high conviction players. Still learning about market engagement, but I really like the Rob Luciano's high conviction approach (their portfolio is about as concentrated as you get for a global L/S). Returns of their fund (longer running), are very impressive. Very active on the short side with a good win rate at picking weakness and going hard. CrapPersistent premium is frustrating for potential buyers! Should have bought some at $2.37lasty week or whenever it was, but wasn't watching.
PGF - Despite the epic fail of their ptrackers LIC which was to ultimately feed into PGF, I really like Paul Moore's investment approach. He is however highly contrarian and as a result, his numbers can have periods of looking crap on a relative basis in a bullish market. Market engagement can be better. Moore has a lot of skin in the game, the majority of his personal wealth is invested in the strategy. (I hold the strategy in the fund version and have held PGF in the past)
Hope that helps.
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