Press / Media | Cadiz News
Cadiz Mastermind Fund - Masterminding value
04 March 2010
OVER THE PAST 12 months the Cadiz Mastermind Fund has been the top performing South African equity unit trust in the "value" category. Under Mark Ansley, the fund has returned 47% over the past year while the JSE All-Share index returned 35%. In January the fund underwent a bit of a reshuffle in its portfolio as the world took a breather after a rollicking 2009.
The fund lightened its holdings in luxury goods group Richemont and IT group Business Connexion and also sold out of its GijimaAst. In turn, it upped its stakes in cellular giant MTN and petrochemicals firm Sasol, which is rapidly coming back into favour with a number of high-profile value managers.
Ansley advised clients in January he remained wary, particularly of developments in China and the United States. He told investors: "Even though US employment trends appear to have turned, fear remains about the true employment details when you unpack its components and its ultimate effect on consumer spending."
He did say he'd been getting some positive feedback from the mining and resources companies, which will play into the hands of heavyweights such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Lonmin and Sasol, which dominate his portfolio.
For those with a bit of an appetite for risk, the fund also includes turnaround story Super Group (2,2% of the portfolio) and furniture company Steinhoff (5,47%), which is banking on a recovery in various Eastern European markets. Steinhoff has caught the eye of a number of other asset managers but is still considered to be a risky investment by some. Neither stock would make your traditional "widows and orphans" type of portfolio, but if they hit a home run it could pay off handsomely for investors over the long term.
