April 2025: Questions for ASX LIC and LIT managers
Summary : Having adequately covered the bases, I rarely produce lengthy posts on this blog. However, some recent developments led me to wonder whethe…
The #1 expert on ASX Closed End Funds (and how to escape them!)
Consultancy services on ASX Closed End Funds (LICs, LITs) for investors seeking exits and alternatives. The mission is to eliminate almost all CEFs!
CD Private Equity Fund Activism
A public blog with detailed insights and shareholder activism
HM1 Discount Factors Analysis
I use my expert discount analysis skills to provide details and solutions regarding HM1.
Total Expense Ratio Analysis
The #1 analyst of ASX CEF TERs and how this affects performance and discounts.
Red flags abound in the ASX LIC wastelands
Summary : While Independent Investment Research, Bell Potter, Livewire, Morningstar, the AFR, Affluence Funds Management and others continue to cover…
TOT - 360 Capital REIT - Can REITs be even worse than LICs and LITs?
Summary : This site is about the hazards of ASX Closed End Funds (CEFs). I intentionally limited this to LICs and LITs, but there is another type of …
Myth vs reality in the long-run performance of ASX LICs and LITs
Summary : Closed End fund (CEF) advocates, LIC/LIT fund managers, the financial media, and even some research firms virtually always overstate ASX CE…
CD1, CD2, CD3 - CD Private Equity Funds - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Of the 89 CEFs left on the ASX, three are mature private equity funds investing in mid-market U.S. companies: CD1 (2012), CD2 (2013) and CD…
Tracking the elimination of ASX Closed End Funds
Summary : As I expose on this blog, virtually all ASX Closed End Funds (CEFs) should be eliminated ; they have no defensible basis to continue existi…
Why HM1 shareholders should vote to convert it to an Open End fund
Summary : Hearts and Minds Investments (HM1) is a LIC with the "highest conviction equities from leading Australian fund managers, with all fe…
CaptiveCapital's 95 theses on why ASX Closed End Funds should be eliminated
Summary : Martin Luther famously nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church his 95 theses making the case against the Catholic church sellin…
WLE - WAM Leaders - Cheat Sheet
Summary : WAM Leaders (WLE) is the largest Wilson Asset Management LIC ($1.7b market cap). It very actively (300% turnover) invests in large cap ASX…
Do superannuation funds recommend LICs/LITs as worthwhile investments?
Summary : Australia's compulsory retirement saving system (aka superannuation, super) requires that 11% of employee earnings each year are invest…
Livewire's LIC/LIT coverage is proof that if you aren't paying for the product, you are the product!
Summary : If you search for ASX LICs or LITs, you'll find few websites with any significant coverage these days, as the CEF sector dies off . The…
WAR - WAM Strategic Value - Cheat Sheet
Summary : In June 2021, Wilson Asset Management raised $225m for its 8th LIC: WAM Strategic Value (WAR). Its strategy being to capitalise on discoun…
VG1 - Vgi Partners Global Investments - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Vgi Partners Global Investments (VG1) launched its $550m LIC in Sep 2017. In part this was off the back of some high profile short-selling …
Exit interviews with managers of failed ASX Closed End Funds
Summary : Since the July 2020 ban on selling commissions , over 34 ASX Closed End Funds (CEFs) have been delisted . Several more are on-route. Only 5…
Staying ahead of the retiree Income LIC shakeout
Summary : More than half of the market cap of the entire ASX Closed End Fund sector is in about 15 LICs (AFI, ARG, WAM, WLE, BKI, AUI, DUI, PL8, DJ…
PGF - PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund - Cheat Sheet
Summary : PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund ( PGF ) is Paul Moore's global equities LIC that listed in Dec 2013. PGF has slightly exceeded VT…
ALI - Argo Global Listed Infrastructure - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Argo Global Listed Infrastructure (ALI) is a $376m LIC managed by Argo Investments, best known for its $6.5b ARG LIC. Since 2015, its gener…
AFI - Australian Foundation Investment Co - Cheat Sheet
Summary : With invested assets over $8.5 billion, the Australian Foundation Investment Company (AFI) is the 800 pound Closed End Fund gorilla on the…
Which CEFs blatantly advertise misleading expected returns?
Summary : Australian Closed End Funds (CEFs) are virtually all destined to underperform cheap index funds in the long run. Hence, it is no surprise t…
PL8 - Plato Income Maximiser - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Plato Income Maximiser (PL8) actively invests in Australian shares to generate a high, reliable dividend yield which is fully-franked. Pla…
PE1 - Pengana Private Equity Trust - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Pengana Private Equity Trust (PE1) is a diversified portfolio of mostly U.S. (~13% Europe, 7% Asia) private equity investments managed by…
Which CEF Management Fees are most misleading?
Summary : The incorrect but common understanding of Closed End Fund (CEF) costs is that there is a base Management Fee of 1-1.5% of "Net Asse…
TGF - Tribeca Global Natural Resources - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Tribeca Global Natural Resources (TGF) has an "active long short investment strategy that seeks to profit from from the inherent vola…
HM1 - Hearts and Minds Investments - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Hearts and Minds Investments (HM1) is a LIC with the "highest conviction equities from leading Australian fund managers, with all fee…
RF1 - Regal Investment Fund - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Regal Funds Management and Phil King have risen swiftly in recent years as a leading alternatives and hedge fund manager. The RF1 LIT is …
Ending the CEF Dividend Reinvestment at NAV ripoff
Summary : ASX CEFs have existed for decades with their myriad ripoffs, pitfalls and leakages. No government agency effectively monitors and reforms t…
WAX - WAM Research - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Wilson Asset Management's LIC funds long-run outperformance figures are a fantasy . In this post, I reveal the true performance of WAM …
When does CEF "skin in the game" become a blocking stake?
Summary : The active management industry can talk endlessly about finding an outperforming manager because this already assumes that this is actually…
TEK - Thorney Technologies - Cheat Sheet
Summary : Geoff Wilson popularized "buying a dollar for 80 cents" regarding ASX CEF discounts, and this misleading and simplistic phrase ra…
LSF - L1 Long Short Fund - Cheat Sheet
Summary : LSF is a genuine long short fund, with very high gross exposure, considerable portfolio turnover, and it often diverges significantly from …
Did the end of CEF selling commissions signal the slow death of the industry?
Summary : It's not well understood, but the majority of ASX CEFs only came into existence due to selling fees (typically 1-2%) paid to financial …
Is Geoff Wilson correct about why LICs trade at discounts?
Summary : Geoff Wilson consistently claims it is straightforward for ASX LICs to trade near or even above NTA: they just need to perform well, commun…
Which activist funds are now targeting ASX CEFs?
Summary : Contrary to the claims of ASX Closed End Fund (CEF) boosters, the industry is destined to shrink over time. Until now, the protaganists for…
PIA - Pengana International Equities - Cheat Sheet
Summary : The ASX is plagued with massively underperforming CEFs at huge discounts but little shareholder activism to wind them up and extract the NA…
SB2 - Salter Brothers Emerging Companies - Cheat Sheet
Summary : At 30th June 2023 , you could buy $1 worth of Salter Brothers Emerging Companies LIC (SB2) assets for just 73c. Geoff Wilson says buying a …
Wilson Funds Management - Performance Tables
Wilson Funds Management - Performance Tables