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Investment Managers Weekly Report - 15 July 2010
The latest Investment Managers Report is now available for download.
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 15 July 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 9 July 2010
The latest Investment Managers Report is now available for download.
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 9 July 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 2 July 2010
The latest Investment Managers Report is now available for download.
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 2 July 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 25 June 2010
The latest Investment Managers Report is now available for download.
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 25 June 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 18 June 2010
The latest Investment Managers Report is now available for download.
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 18 June 2010
Client Update: The Bookmakers Superannuation Fund
(“the Fund”)
This is an update on some key matters concerning the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund (ABN: 22 973 371 189, Registration Number: R1067781).
Background
As you are aware, during 2009 the Fund was significantly affected by the impact on investment markets of the global financial crisis, resulting in its liquidity coming under pressure and leading to restrictions being implemented on members’ ability to conduct transactions with the Fund.
Recent Developments
A strategy has been developed to allow the Fund to re-open and to substantially remove the existing restrictions.
To do this a number of changes will be made to the Fund’s features and operating rules. Some of the changes require approval from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). We have applied to APRA for the appropriate approval and are currently awaiting their response.
The Changes in Brief
• The existing switching restrictions will be removed from the Conservative Investment Strategies.
• The Balanced Accumulation and Balanced Pension Investment Strategies will each be divided into two parts:
One part will contain the direct mortgage loans and unlisted mortgage trusts (illiquid investments) currently held in the Balanced Investment Strategies. In this part:
o Investment redemptions and switches will not be permitted;
o Pension payments will be restricted; and
o Underlying illiquid investments are intended to be realised progressively and the proceeds distributed to members’ accounts as cash requirements allow.
The second part will contain the remaining liquid assets of the Balanced Investment Strategies. In this part:
o All existing restrictions will be removed; and
o No significant exposure to direct mortgage loans or unlisted mortgage trusts is anticipated.
In effect your current balance in the Balanced Investment strategies will be apportioned between the “liquid” and “illiquid” parts. In the liquid part you will be able to transact normally but your illiquid portion will remain restricted and will be gradually released for normal transactions as the realisation of the illiquid assets progresses over a timeframe that could take several years.
Additional Information
This approach is the result of considerations involving the Fund Trustee, Administrator and Investment Manager with the objective of putting the Fund back on a sound footing in the post GFC environment.
These changes are seen as the best approach to facilitate re-opening the Fund and remove the restrictions that have been in place and avoid having to keep the Fund closed for an extended period of time in order to allow the illiquid assets to be realised at reasonable prices.
Further details will be provided to you shortly including:
• Expected timing for re-opening;
• Objectives and rules of operation for the new “Illiquid Strategies”; and
• The proportion of each Balanced Strategy allocated to the illiquid part.
Should you have any questions regarding this Update please contact the Fund’s administrator on 1300 880 736.
Issued by Equity Trustees Limited ABN 46 004 031 298 as trustee of the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 04 June 2010
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 04 June 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 28 May 2010
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 28 May 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 21 May 2010
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Investment Managers Weekly Report 21 May 2010
Investment Managers Weekly Report - 14 May 2010
The latest Investment Managers Report is now available for download. Click on the link below to view or download in PDF format.
Investment Managers Weekly Report 14 May 2010
March Update
Following completion of the audit and distribution of the 2009 Financial Year annual statements in early February 2010, SuperPromoters has been actively supporting the BSF trustee, Equity Trustees, in determining when the processing restrictions that were introduced in 2009 can be lifted. Significant progress has been made, however this is a very important and complex matter. Consideration is continuing and we will communicate further with members shortly.
BSF Annual Report
February 2010
BSF Annual Report 2009 now available in Forms & Downloads.
Click here to read the full Annual Report in PDF format.
Annual Member Statements
28 January 2010
Members will be pleased to know that they will receive their 2009 Annual Member Statements in the mail next week. This statement has historically been issued approximately two months after year end. Please accept our apologies for the delay in sending these to you this year. This was caused by the delay in finalising the audited accounts for the Fund. Click here to read the full annual member statement cover letter in PDF format.
BSF Christmas 2009 Update
Bookmakers Superannuation Fund has released a Chistmas Update for members. Click here to read the update in PDF format.
Update to Significant Event Notice
18 December 2009
Click here to read the notice.
Update to Significant Event Notice
20 November 2009
Click here to read the notice.
BSF Special Fund Update PDF
October 2009
The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has impacted investors across the globe, including members of
Australian superannuation funds and other investment vehicles. While BSF carries no debt, it does
invest in assets that have not been immune to the effects of the GFC. An information guide has
been prepared to update members on recent issues concerning the fund. Download and view the pdf here.
BSF Special Fund Update October 2009
Investment Managers Review
September Quarter 2009
The performance of the Balanced Option of the Bookmakers Super Fund (BSF) improved in the September quarter, helped by resurgence in share prices. The Conservative Option continued to perform satisfactorily, though low interest rates will keep the returns at a modest level. To read the full Investment & Economic Review as compiled by our Investment Manager, download the pdf here.
BSF Investment Managers Review
August 2009
Significant Event Notice: The Bookmakers Superannuation Fund (BSF)
This Notice outlines some changes to the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund (BSF). These changes may impact on your ability to rollover or transfer your superannuation benefit in the short term.
Background
As you would be aware, the Accumulation Balanced Investment Strategy and the Pension Balanced Investment Strategy invest in assets such as direct shares, fixed interest, mortgages and property.
The worldwide credit crunch and ensuing global financial crisis have contributed to some mortgage loans within the Balanced Investment Strategies being affected (for example, the loans have not being repaid within their terms). As result, we have had to reduce the ‘book value’ of a number of these mortgage loans.
The affected assets have impacted the overall liquidity of the Balanced Investment Strategies.
As Trustee of the BSF, Equity Trustees Limited, following consultation with the BSF Investment Manager, Administrator and Promoter, has formed the view that further unrestricted redemptions from the Balanced Investment Strategies poses the risk of having an adverse effect on the remaining members in those strategies..
That is, the further redemption of liquid assets (such as shares) in the Balanced Investment Strategies to fund member redemptions, poses the risk that remaining members will become exposed to an unacceptable and unfair concentration of affected assets.
The Trustee has applied to the government superannuation regulator, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), to defer the processing of rollovers and transfers from the Balanced Accumulation Investment Strategy and Balanced Pension Investment Strategy of the BSF for a rolling ninety (90) day period from the date redemption requests are normally processed.
The original application was made on 1 July 2009. APRA has made a number of requests for additional information, and as a result of their latest request, we expect a decision some time during mid to late September.
The Changes
Pending receipt of APRA’s decision, the Trustee has decided to defer the processing of redemption requests (unless members meet a condition of release) from the Balanced Investment Strategies. This decision may change if there is a significant change in the liquidity position of the Balanced Investment Strategies.
Please note that:
• This decision only impacts members who have invested in the Balanced Accumulation and Balanced Pension Investment Strategies and have not met a condition of release.
• Contributions and inward rollovers can still be made to your account in the Balanced Accumulation and Balanced Pension Investment Strategies.
• Certain members are NOT affected by the changes, being members who:
• Have met a condition of release; or
• Receive pension payments: or
• Are entitled to a payment on hardship or compassionate grounds.
The reason for this decision is to allow time for the liquidity in the Balanced Accumulation and Balanced Pension Investment Strategies to be increased, and to ensure equitable treatment between those members who remain in these strategies, and those members who may choose to leave the BSF.
If you would like to know more about these changes please contact your fund administrator, Super Promoters, on 1 300 880 736. You may also wish to consult with your financial adviser in relation to your personal circumstances.
June 2009 Update
The final results for the 2008/09 year have now been posted under “Latest Monthly Crediting Rates”.
This last twelve months have obviously been tumultuous on all global asset valuations. Stock markets have fallen by as much as 50% and almost unlisted assets have needed to be written down by significant percentages. Some of these write downs in unlisted assets are now only just flowing through to the performance of superannuation funds. It is noteworthy that a number of industry funds are now posting very large negative returns.
The unaudited annual results for the BSF are now available and are shown in the table along with the three and five year returns:
To put these results into context they can be compared with other balanced superannuation funds. Rainmaker offers performance tables for various investment options. In order to access these performance tables you need to log onto the SelectingSuper website at www.selectingsuper.com.au. Note that the current performance tables on the SelectingSuper web site are for the year to end of May 2009, so the comparison is not strictly accurate. The results for the year to the end of June will be available at the end of July.
To find the performance tables click on “Top Super Funds”, then click on “Latest Results for Superannuation and Retirement Funds”. Then under “Superannuation Funds” click on “Diversified Balanced”. This is the performance table for the top 50 accumulation funds out of a total of 230 superannuation funds.
Go back one page and under “Retirement Funds” click on “Diversified Balanced”. This is the performance table for the top 50 pension funds out of a total of 98 funds.
The accumulation funds table shows that the result for one year returns for the first quartile (top 25% of funds) is -13.9% and the median (most common result) is -16.6%. The one year result for the BSF (-16.8%) is almost exactly in line with the median fund. The three year result for the BSF (-4.5%) is a little worse that than the median result of -3.0%. The five year result for the BSF (+3.8%) is very close to the median result of +3.0%.
The pension performance table shows that the one year returns for the first quartile is -14.6% whilst the median return is -17.1%. Again, the one year return for the BSF (-15.9%) is in line with the median result. The three year result for the BSF (-1.6%) is close to the median result of -2.9%. The five year average for the BSF (+6.9%) is superior to the first quartile average of +4.7%.
It is never pleasant to post negative returns and we are fully aware on how they impact on all members, particularly those in retirement. The SelectingSuper performance tables show that the impact of the Global Financial Crisis has been felt by all superannuation investment options which have any significant percentage of growth assets. Over the past month there have been some “green shoots” appearing in the US and Australian economies. Two of the major US banks, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan have posted exceptional quarterly results and we all hope that this is the beginning of a sustained turnaround.
June 2009 Update
ASFA, The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia is the peak superannuation industry body in Australia.
They have issued a media release on the current status of superannuation funds in Australia.
Extracts from this media release give timely advice to members concerned about their superannuation benefits.
To quote some of the article:
ASFA – the Voice of Super urged members of funds not to panic in the face of reports that the average balanced super fund will report two consecutive years of negative returns.
The GFC has had a major impact on superannuation balances but we must keep these recent events in perspective. ASFA Chief Executive, Pauline Vamos said.
Ms Vamos said the industry needed to remind members of the many benefits offered by superannuation that include:
• Super funds are down about 20% from their highs of 2007, while the share market was down by as much as 40% in early March. While this is not good for members – particularly older members about to retire, most super funds are run conservatively and the negative returns reflect the broader market. This contrasts sharply with the 200,000 or so investors, mostly retirees, who have lost much more, sometimes all of their savings and their homes, investing outside super in property-backed debentures or share market gearing, property development projects and tax-effective agribusiness investments.
• The rebound in the share market during the last quarter highlights the perils of trying to time markets and, as such, switching portfolios, particularly when the market is low, is rarely in the best interests of investors.
• The negative returns of the past two years are a very unusual result. Researcher, Warren Chant, of Chant West was quoted in the Australian Financial Review today saying; “the probability of two consecutive years of negative returns is really low, about one year in 25.
• During a working life of 35-40 years and 20 years in retirement, Australians can expect numerous market cycles. Experience tells us that patience, confidence and resilience are essential ingredients to recovery.
The entire article can be viewed on the ASFA website at www.superannuation.asn.au and click on media releases.
There are a number of ASFA media releases at this same web address.
May 2009 Update
The Bookmakers Superannuation Fund Investment Managers Review is now available for viewing. You can view a pdf of this document here.
March 2009 Update
It is very pleasing to be able to report positive returns for all of the investment options in March.
These results are summarised in the following table:
The month of March saw a reasonable rally in the All Ordinaries Index (AOX). The first week of March did not augur well for the month. The AOX opened at 3,300 on 1 March and hit an intraday low of 3,050 on 8 March.
It then rallied for the remainder of the month on the back of solid gains on Wall Street. The AOX ended the month at 3,530. All sectors, including banking and resource stocks, posted solid gains. Even some stocks within the beleaguered property trust sector had outstanding revaluations; the standout being FKP which had a 100% boost in its share price. It needs to be kept in mind that this increase was off a low base.
The balanced investment options for both the accumulation and pension funds showed solid positive movement. It is to be hoped that this is the first sign of a sustained recovery.
The conservative options both recovered from a slightly negative performance in February and posted above average positive returns. This is on the back of a recovery in the share price of the listed fixed interest investments, notable Contributing Preference Shares and some Convertible Notes. These hybrid shares held in the portfolio are issued by ANZ, NAB and Macquarie banks. The Investment Manager is comfortable that these investments will at least retain their capital value and produce fixed interest returns higher that the cash and term deposit rates currently available.
February 2009 Update
The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at the beginning of February was 3,480. This index had fallen to 3297 at the end of the month. This is a drop of 5.25% over this period. This drop in the market indices was the main contributor to the negative returns for the month of February in the balanced investment options for both the accumulation and pension sub-funds.
The big four banks held up reasonably well during the month with the Commonwealth Bank rising from $26.90 to $29.80 and Westpac from $15.64 to $16.89.
On the other hand, Suncorp Metway, a banking and insurance provider, dropped almost 30% from $7.50 to $5.26. Some of this fall was attributed to a capital raising via an institutional placement at a heavily discounted $4.50 per share.
Other stocks which were sold down heavily over the month were:
The XAO is now down about 53% from its peak of 6,800 in November 2007. This is now well and truly the worst bear market in recent memory. Don Stammer, at the Chief Economist’s breakfast, stated that the average bear market takes 15 months to reach a bottom and takes 43 months to recover its previous high. This is now the sixteenth month of the current downturn. While past investment performance should not be taken as an indication of future performance and future performance is dependent upon future conditions and cannot be guaranteed, many investors are hoping that this current situation is typical of historical bear markets and that a turnaround is not too far away.
Conservative Option
There was a slight negative in the conservative options for both the accumulation fund and the pension fund. The investment manager has diversified the portfolio by purchasing some listed fixed interest products.
These include preference shares issued by the major banks which pay an interest rate higher than the cash rate. The share price of some of these fixed interest investments fell slightly during the month of February and this led to the minor negative return for the month.
January 2009 Update
The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at the beginning of January was 3,660. It had fallen to 3,480 by the end of the month. This is a fall of approximately 5%.
The XAO market index has traded in the range between 3,300 and 3,700 since late November. This may be an indication that the market may have found a base and hopefully can stage a rally from this point.
The Chief Economists Forum was held at the Westin hotel on Tuesday 3 February. Five leading commentators, including Don Stammer and Craig James gave their take on the current economic situation both globally and in Australia. The consensus view was that there would be continued volatility in the first half of 2009 and some recovery in the second half of the year.
The result for the balanced investment options for the month of January was very disappointing. This was partly caused by a negative revaluation of the stocks listed on the ASX, particularly the impact on financial stocks of the catastrophic results released by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The result was exacerbated by two additional factors. The first was a write down in the Premium Income Fund. The units had been valued by the fund’s responsible entity, Wellington Capital at 45 cents. The units were recently listed on the National Stock Exchange and were marked to market at 16 cents at the end of January. This is the value at which they are now written into the BSF.
The second was a write down in the value of some of the first mortgages held by the fund. The investment manager has recommended to the Fund’s Trustee that they make an impairment provision against possible losses. Some loans have defaulted with their carrying values adjusted accordingly whilst January was the second month in which there was a 2% write down of the face value of those loans deemed to represent a default risk.
In the latest Super Ratings media release for the periods up to the end of December 2008 show that for the median* fund the following results have been achieved.
6 months to 31 December 2008: -12.53%
12 months to 31 December 2008: -19.67%
* Median Fund refers to “balanced option” with exposure to growth style assets of between 60% and 76%.
To access the latest information on the Super Ratings web site log onto www.superratings.com.au and click on “latest media”.
September 2008 Quarterly Report
The turbulence in world financial markets continued in the September 2008 quarter.
As well as the financial stocks the resource stocks have now been heavily sold down on an expectation that the demand from China, India and other parts of the world will decline.
It has recently been announced that there are sixteen world banks with a AA rating. It is heartening to note that Australia’s four pillars, the Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ and Westpac are among those sixteen banks with a AA rating.
It has also been stated that Australia is in a stronger position than most other developed economies. The current official interest rate in Australia is 7% and hence there is a good deal of room to move for the Reserve Bank to stimulate the economy.
Also the Federal Government is running a hefty budget surplus in the current year. There is also the expectation that some of this surplus will be used to develop infrastructure in Australia and this will have a positive outcome for the economy.
The monthly September and the quarterly results for the fund are now available on the BSF website and the Year to Date results are shown in the following table.
The advice expressed by a lot of financial commentators is that now is not the time to panic. There has been any number of downturns in the equity markets over the decades and invariably there has been a turnaround, sometimes a sharp reversal.
Year to Date 1 July 2008 to 30 September 2008 are as follows.
Investment Option |
Accumulation Sub-Fund |
Pension Sub-Fund |
| Balanced Option |
-1.430% |
-1.314% |
| Conservative Option |
+1.451% |
+1.120% |
The asset allocation of the balanced option for the accumulation and pension sub-funds as at 30 September 2008 are:
Asset Sector |
Accumulation Sub-Fund |
Pension Sub-Fund |
| Cash |
2.30% |
0.15% |
| Australian Fixed Interest |
50.76% |
56.40% |
| Australian Shares |
31.60% |
34.51% |
| International Shares |
0.58% |
0.61% |
| Property & Infrastructure |
14.76% |
8.33% |
The percentage of Australian Shares in each portfolio is below the benchmark of 40% due to the devaluation of these assets on the ASX.
March 2008 News
Conservative Investment Option
It is the intention of the Trustee of the BSF to offer a second investment option to members of the BSF accumulation and pension sub-funds. This will be communicated through a Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement (SPDS) which will be sent to all members in the near future.
It is called the “conservative” investment option and allows members the choice of transferring all or part of their superannuation benefits from the current balanced portfolio into this new less volatile alternative.
The “conservative” option proposed target asset allocation is 30% cash and 70% Australian fixed interest.
The types of investments that are available to the investment manager will be listed in the SPDS.
This is a more defensive asset allocation and the returns in this investment option should be more predictable than the returns in the balanced investment option.
If you have any interest in this “conservative” investment option please contact the office.
March 2008 News
Anti Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing Legislation
As you may be aware, the Federal Government has recently enacted legislation which is designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
The superannuation industry is included in this legislation in so far as each member must have their identity verified before they can receive any payment of benefits.
Member benefit payments include:
- Early release on any grounds, including severe financial hardship and compassionate grounds.
- The payment of small account balances as permitted by law.
- The payment of retirement benefits (pension or lump sum)
- The payment of disability or death benefits.
Verification Documents
The standard customer verification procedure is via the following documentation;
- Australian driver’s licence
- Australian passport
- Card issued by a state or territory for the purpose of proving a person’s age and also contains a photo.
All documents that are obtained to verify a member’s or other payee’s details must be either an original or a certified copy of an original. A list of people who may certify a copy of an original document is found on the reverse side of this notice.
There are non-standard member verification procedures. If such verification is required further details can be obtained by contacting the office.
If there are any queries regarding this identification requirement please contact the office.
February 2008 News
Newsletter to Members of the BSF
In the newsletter forwarded to you in December 2007 it was pointed out that the Global stock markets had been very volatile in the first half of the 2007/08 financial year.
The fallout from the credit squeeze in America has proved to be more widespread than at first thought and the resolution of the situation should take longer than was anticipated. The direct impact on Australian companies remains minimal.
The US Government has undertaken a number of initiatives to stimulate their economy. These include major reductions in official interest rates and the injection of very large quantities of cash into the economy. Most commentators are now of the opinion that these measures will prevent the US economy falling into recession.
The result of the present uncertainty has been a sharp drop in Australian share markets in January. This has affected the growth assets of the BSF portfolio as it has affected the growth assets of every other superannuation fund.
It needs to be kept in mind that it has been the superior performance of the growth assets of the BSF over the past decade that has led to outstanding returns and it is only natural that a correction could be anticipated at some stage.
The best advice is definitely not to panic and to remember that superannuation is a very long term investment; in fact for the rest of your life. You should not be over concerned by short term volatility.
The best thing that can happen is that there is a sustained recovery in the share market in the second half of 2007/08 and that the crediting rate for the year will be satisfactory.
If this does not happen, then the prospects of a good year in 2008/09 are greatly enhanced because the valuation of the growth assets will be starting from a lower base.
Please remember that we are always available to answer your enquiries.
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