The 16 most-viewed funds on Livewire in 2022

Claremont Global Fund

With more than 3000 clicks, The Claremont Global Fund takes the top gong as the most-viewed on Livewire in 2022.

Lead manager(s): Bob Desmond is the Head of Claremont Global & co-Portfolio Manager. Desmond has almost 30 years of experience in financial markets, in Africa, London, and Sydney. Adam Chandler is co-Portfolio Manager and has more than 20 years of experience in financial markets, having previously worked as an analyst and Portfolio Manager with UBS’s Fundamental Investment Group and at a London-based, absolute return fund.

Fund objective: The Claremont Global strategy has funds under management of over $1bn and has delivered consistent outperformance since its founding a decade ago. The fund's objective is to generate absolute returns of 8-12% over a 5-7 year investment cycle and holds a portfolio of 10-15 quality growth businesses for the long term. The fund also expects to outperform the MSCI All Countries World Accumulation Index ex-Australia (Benchmark) over the period after fees.

Livewire activity: Bob Desmond was featured on Livewire’s Rules of Investing podcast in October last year. Portfolio Manager Adam Chandler wrote a wire in August last year titled The Numbers Game: Risks hiding in plain sight.

#2 - Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund (Managed Fund)

Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund (Managed Fund)

Lead managers: Jason Orthman and Mark Arnold. Orthman joined Hyperion in 2008 and is Senior Portfolio Manager and Deputy CIO. He is responsible for research of equities across Hyperion’s product range. Prior to joining Hyperion, he worked as a senior research analyst with stock broker, Wilson HTM. Arnold is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Hyperion. He has been a core part of the investment team since Hyperion’s inception in the 1990s and has been the Managing Director since 2019 and Chief Investment Officer since 2007. Mark has spent over 25 years researching listed companies.

Fund objective: The Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund fund is a highly concentrated portfolio holding 15-30 stocks. The fund invests in global growth-oriented companies that are typically characterised by four attributes: own high-quality business franchises, have above-average growth potential, have low levels of gearing, and have earnings that should be sustained and grow in the long run. The fund’s objective is to achieve medium to long-term capital growth and income by investing in high-calibre companies primarily listed on a recognised global exchange, at the time of investment.

#3 - Lazard Select Australian Equity Fund (W Class)

Lazard Select Australian Equity Fund (W Class)

Lead manager: Dr. Philipp Hofflin. Hofflin has over 27 years of experience in the investment field with prior experience as the head of Financial Markets Research with Royal & Sun Alliance.

Fund objective: The fund is characterised as a high conviction portfolio with high active share and low beta characteristics over time. The fund objective is to achieve total returns (including income and capital appreciation and before the deduction of fees and taxes) that exceed those of the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index (Benchmark) by 5% per annum over rolling five-year periods. The fund holds between 12 and 30 positions that Lazard believes are trading below their intrinsic value.

Livewire activity: Hofflin is a frequent Livewire contributor, appearing most recently with my colleague Hans Lee to discuss why it could be a multi-year story for value investing. Hofflin was also featured on the Rules of Investing podcast in September last year.

#4 - Plato Australian Shares Income Fund

Plato Australian Shares Income Fund

Lead managers: The fund is headed by Dr. Don Hamson and Peter Gardner.

Fund objective: The Plato Australian Shares Income Fund is a long equity income fund managed specifically for zero-tax investors who can utilise franking credits. The fund aims to make total returns primarily by holding stocks that pay franked dividends and participating in off-market buy-backs. The fund’s objective is to provide an annual gross yield (including franking) that exceeds the gross yield of the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Daily Total Return Index - Tax-Exempt (Benchmark) after fees. The fund also aims to outperform the Benchmark after fees.

Livewire activity: Hamson is a frequent Livewire contributor, recently appearing Buy Hold Sell in October. More recently, he published an article outlining Why dividends will continue to underpin retirement income in 2023.

#5 - Hyperion Australian Growth Companies Fund

Hyperion Australian Growth Companies Fund

Monash Absolute Active Trust (Hedge Fund)

Lead managers: Jason Orthman and Mark Arnold.

Fund objective: The Hyperion Australian Growth Companies Fund holds 15 to 30 stocks listed on the ASX. The fund invests in growth-oriented companies on the ASX that are typically characterised by four attributes: own high-quality business franchises, have above-average growth potential, have low levels of gearing, and have earnings that should be sustained and grow in the long run. The fund’s objective is to achieve a total return exceeding the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index (Benchmark) over a five-year horizon.

#6 - Monash Absolute Active Trust (Hedge Fund)

ETF

Lead managers: The fund is headed by Simon Shields and Shane Fitzgerald. Shields has over 30 years of experience in the industry, having previously worked as the Head of Australian Equities at both UBS Global Asset Management (Australia) and Colonial First State.

Fund objective: The Monash Absolute Active Trust fund is a long-biased long/short Australian equity fund. Monash Investors aim to identify compelling opportunities, which are defined as stocks with +60% upside for long investments or -30% downside for shorts. The fund’s investment objective is to deliver positive returns over a full market cycle while limiting the loss of capital over the medium term, with a target income distribution of 6% p.a.

Livewire activity: Shields was featured on the Rules of Investing podcast last year and wrote a wire for this year's Outlook Series, titled The changing face of Sydney property (and two stocks with the pricing power to play it).

#7 - Eley Griffiths Emerging Companies Fund

Eley Griffiths Emerging Companies Fund

Lead manager: The fund is managed by Ben Griffiths, David Allingham and the team. Griffiths is the Co-Founder of Eley Griffiths Group and has over 30 years of financial market experience. Previously he worked as the joint head of small companies at both BT Financial Group and ING Investment Management.

Fund objective: The Eley Griffiths Emerging Companies Fund is a long-only portfolio consisting of 35-55 stocks, with an average market capitalisation of around $700m (as of 31 October 2022). The fund’s objective is to outperform the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index (Benchmark) over a rolling 5-year period.

Livewire activity: Griffiths was featured on Livewire’s Rules of Investing podcast in May last year.

#8 - Magellan Global Fund

Lead managers: The fund is managed by Nikki Thomas and Arvid Streimann.

Fund objective: The Magellan Global Fund is an active long-only global fund holding 20 to 40 of the world’s best global stocks. The fund’s objective is to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns over the medium to long term aiming for a delivery of 9% p.a net of fees over the economic cycle, all while minimising the risk of permanent capital loss.

Livewire activity: Magellen regularly release their "Magellan Minutes" podcasts on the platform, the latest of which can be found here. The team also recently presented a webinar titled "The weight will be worth it", a summary of which was written by Livewire's Sara Allen in her wire Magellan's approach to stocks and sectors for coming markets.

#9 - Lazard Defensive Australian Equity Fund

Lazard Defensive Australian Equity Fund

Lead managers: The fund is managed by Dr. Philipp Hofflin and his team.

Fund objective: The Lazard Defensive Australian Equity Fund is designed to provide regular, tax-effective income that grows over time, by investing in Australian companies with sustainable dividends. The fund’s objective is to achieve reduced exposure to the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index drawdown, a total return that exceeds the Reserve Bank of Australia Cash Rate, and an income return at a premium to the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index dividend yield (Benchmark).

#10 - Ox Capital Dynamic Emerging Markets Fund

Ox Capital Dynamic Emerging Markets Fund

Lead manager: Ox Capital was founded and is managed by Dr Joseph Lai.

Fund objective: The Ox Capital Dynamic Emerging Markets Fund is a long/short fund typically holding between 30-50 stocks that are diversified across countries, sectors, and thematic exposure. The fund is described as a concentrated portfolio of high-quality, undervalued, well-run companies in emerging markets that is prepared to make use of derivatives, as well as other downside protection strategies to help protect the portfolio from market volatility. The fund’s objective is to provide an absolute return and capital growth over the long term and outperform its MSCI Emerging Markets Net Total Return Index (AUD) Unhedged (Benchmark) after costs over rolling five-year periods.

Livewire activity: Dr.Lai sat down with Hans Lee last year as part of our Expert Insights series.

#11 - L1 Capital Long Short Fund – Wholesale

L1 Capital Long Short Fund – Wholesale

Alternative Assets

Lead manager: The fund is managed by Mark Landau and Raphael Lamm. Landau and Lamm are the Co-Founders and CIO's at L1 Capital and have led the L1 Capital Long Short Fund since its inception in 2014.

Fund objective: The L1 Capital Long Short Fund is an absolute return fund that offers investors a highly diversified portfolio of long and short positions. Investments are based on L1 Capital’s fundamental bottom-up research process. The fund’s objective is to achieve a 10% return net of fees and expenses p.a. over the long term.

Livewire activity: Landau was featured on Livewire’s Rules of Investing in October last year.

#12 - Alphinity Global Equity

Alphinity Global Equity

Lead managers: Multiple highly experienced managers.

Fund objective: The Alphinity Global Equity Fund is a highly diversified portfolio that stretches across various countries, sectors, and currencies. Managed by a team of highly experienced managers, the fund typically aims to identify 30 to 45 undervalued stocks entering an earnings upgrade cycle. The fund's objective is to outperform the MSCI World Net Total Return Index (AUD) after costs (Benchmark) over rolling three-year periods.

Livewire activity: In August last year, Mary Manning was featured on the Rules of Investing podcast, whilst Elfreda Jonker wrote a wire in September last year titled Five global ‘earnings upgraders’ outstripping the market.

#13 - Munro Global Growth Fund

Munro Global Growth Fund

Lead manager: Nick Griffin. Griffin is a founding partner and CIO at Munro Partners with over 20 years working in financial services, 15 of which have been in funds management.

Fund objective: The Munro Global Growth Fund typically holds 30-50 positions in global growth equities. The fund’s objective is to provide investors with meaningful, risk-adjusted, absolute returns through exposure to global growth equities over the medium to long term, while maintaining a capital preservation mindset.

Livewire activity: Griffin is featured in several wires as part of the 2023 Outlook series, including No bears here: The 6 bulls you’ll meet in 2023 and The #1 stock picks for 2023.

#14 - Eiger Australian Small Companies Fund

Eiger Australian Small Companies Fund

Lead managers: Stephen Wood, Victor Gomes and David Haddad. Wood is a Co-Founder of Eiger Capital with 30 years of experience in the industry. Previously, he was at UBS as the lead portfolio manager of the UBS Australian Small Companies Fund, as well as an equity analyst for an investment bank covering various sectors.

Fund objective: The Eiger Australian Small Companies Fund provides exposure to small to medium-sized stocks across both the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the New Zealand Securities Exchange (NZX). The fund’s objective is to outperform the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index (Benchmark) over rolling five-year periods (after fees).

Livewire activity: Wood is a frequent Livewire contributor; in July he published a wire discussing the nature of a commodity boom.

#15 – Metrics Direct Income Fund

Metrics Direct Income Fund

Australian Fixed Income

Lead manager: The Metrics Direct Income Fund is managed by Andrew Lockhart and his team. Lockhart has over 30 years of banking, funds management, and financial markets experience specialising in leverage, acquisition finance, and corporate and institutional lending.

Fund objective: The fund aims to provide investment exposure to Australian corporate loans, diversified by borrower, industry, and credit quality, targeting a return of the RBA Cash Rate plus 3.25% p.a. through the economic cycle. The fund seeks to implement active strategies designed to balance the delivery of the target return while preserving investor capital.

Livewire activity: Lockhart was featured in Livewire’s Expert Insights in November last year and, more recently, he has been a part of the 2023 Outlook Series wire, One thing investors can't ignore in 2023, according to these 6 fund managers.

#16 – Allan Gray Australia Equity Fund – Class A

Allan Gray Australia Equity Fund - Class A