Forager International Shares Fund
The Forager International Shares Fund offers a different approach to investing overseas. With investments in large liquid and resilient businesses, combined with smaller value-based ideas, the Fund offers exposure to a unique portfolio of global shares.
The Fund aims to outperform the Benchmark over a rolling 5 year period. Note the investment return objective is not intended to be a forecast. It is merely an indication of what the Fund aims to achieve over the long term. The Fund may not be successful in meeting this objective. Returns are not guaranteed.
The Investment Manager has developed an investment process that aims to achieve the investment return objective.
The Fund invests predominantly in companies listed on recognised stock exchanges around the world. The Fund will typically contain 20-40 securities (although it may hold more or less) that Forager believes are undervalued by the market at the time of purchase. When sufficient opportunities cannot be found, the Fund may hold higher than normal levels of cash. The Fund aims to provide capital growth and some distributions. The Fund may also invest in companies that are likely to be listed on an exchange in the near future or remain invested in companies that have been delisted from an exchange. The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its assets into unlisted investments.
As the Forager name suggests, our style of investing involves scouring the world looking for undiscovered opportunities. In assessing these opportunities, we find both asset backing and earnings power are useful valuation tools, depending on the type of business we are investing in.
We like buying smaller, less well known businesses that may provide opportunity for higher returns. We also like buying mid to large liquid stocks if they are available at reasonable prices. These types of business add resilience to the portfolios, and can provide an important source of liquidity in volatile markets where there may be other opportunities available at the smaller end of the market.
Our small size gives us the flexibility to combine these types of businesses into our portfolios. If the potential returns are high enough, we have no qualms investing in unknown businesses. And if the situation demands it, we are prepared to be activists in order to realise the value inherent in a company’s shares. This approach has worked well for us over the years.
Our aim for both mid to large liquid businesses and smaller less well known companies is to buy shares at prices we believe to be substantially less than their underlying value. Then we wait for the market to correct this mispricing.
This is more difficult than it sounds, which is why we have a rigorous research process and healthy debate within the team. Businesses change and stock valuation is an inexact science, so we only invest in stocks where the gap between our estimate of its value and the current share price is large enough to compensate for the uncertainty.
The Fund is generally suited for persons who seek higher returns over the medium to long term and are prepared to accept higher volatility in returns including negative returns over the short term. You should speak with your financial adviser before investing in the Fund.
Whether or not to add a stock to the portfolio and how much of the portfolio to invest in any one idea depends on:
- the risk/reward trade-off relative to other candidates and existing securities in the portfolio
- the perceived risk correlations between the individual securities and the existing portfolio
- the impact on the overall risk and expected return of the portfolio. A security is only added to the extent it is expected to increase the expected return
- the size and resilience of the underlying business and the volume of trading in the securities. A security can be added to the portfolio if it adds defensive characteristics and liquidity to the portfolio
DISCLAIMER Forager Funds Management Pty Ltd ABN 78 138 351 345 operates under AFSL No: 459312 as is the Manager of the Forager International Shares Fund (ARSN No: 161 843 778) (the Fund). Fundhost Limited (ABN 69 092 517 087, AFSL No: 233045) is the responsible entity and the issuer of the Fund. Before investing or continuing to hold the financial product you should read the Product Disclosure Statement and seek advice from investment and taxation professionals to determine if the product is appropriate for your needs.. You may obtain a product disclosure statement from Fundhost Limited or download a copy at www.foragerfunds.com.
The International Shares Fund Target Market Determination can be found at https://fundhost.com.au/fund/forager-international-shares-fund/ To the extent permitted by law, Fundhost and Forager Funds Management Pty Limited, its employees, consultants, advisers, officers and authorised representatives are not liable for any loss or damage arising as a result of reliance placed on the contents of this document. ˆThis investment objective is not a forecast and returns are not guaranteed. Although the MSCI AC World Net Index in $A benchmark represents the available investment universe for the Fund, the Portfolio will represent a very small proportion of those available investments and the Fund’s results may vary from the benchmark.
Steve Johnson is the founder of and holds the largest beneficial interest in Forager. After a short investment banking career at Macquarie in the early 2000s, Steve decided to pursue his passion for value investing. In 2004, entities related to him, his business partner and other shareholders bought the Intelligent Investor Group from its founders and he was Managing Director of that business until 2009.
With the support of the Intelligent Investor Group shareholders and brand, he then founded the Manager, then known as Intelligent Investor Funds Management Pty Ltd. The Forager Australian Shares Fund was launched in October 2009 and the Forager International Shares Fund was launched in February 2013.
He has a Bachelor of Economics (Econometrics and Finance) from the University of NSW.
Gareth Brown is a Portfolio Manager with Forager, focused on the Forager International Shares Fund. Gareth's career began with seven years at Commonwealth Bank, initially in risk management and then on the trading floor.
To pursue his obsession with value investing, Gareth joined Intelligent Investor in 2002 and has worked alongside CIO Steve Johnson for almost 20 years.
Gareth was promoted to joint Portfolio Manager of the Forager International Shares Fund in 2020, reflecting his outstanding contribution to portfolio returns since its inception. His focus is predominantly stocks listed in Europe and the UK and he has a preference for growing businesses with good management teams.
He has Bachelor of Business, majoring in Finance, from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Harvey Migotti joined in June 2019 and brings significant portfolio management experience to the team.
He has held several Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst roles across various firms in both Sydney and London including Watermark Funds, Balyasny, Amiya Capital, Apax Partners and Morgan Stanley. Harvey attained BSc First Class Honours in Business Studies from Lancaster University Management School and a Masters of Finance from Cambridge University, Judge Business School.
He is fluent in English, Swedish, Spanish and Croatian and has deep knowledge of US stockmarket, with particular strength in industrials and technology.
Chloe joined Forager at the end of 2017. She was previously employed by both KPMG and Deloitte in corporate finance roles, working on M&A advisory and restructuring engagements. Chloe completed a Bachelor of Business (Finance and Accounting) at the University of Technology in Sydney, graduating with first class honours. She has obtained CFA Charterholder status.
Chloe has carved out a niche in retail and travel stocks and is contributing strongly to portfolio composition.
Relevant Documents
You should read the PDS, TMD (if applicable) or any Investment Memorandum (or other offer documents) related to this product before making an investment decision. These documents (if available) can be found at https://www.foragerfunds.com/, or if this is a "wholesale investor only" investment, can be viewed by contacting the Product Issuer identified on the aforementioned website.
Statutory Statement
The issuer of this product is identified at the top of this page. The PDS and target market determination for the product are available in the Documents section of this listing. Prospective investors should consider the PDS before deciding to acquire the product. This product listing was vetted by and approved by the product issuer identified above before publishing. Investment Markets (Aust) Pty Ltd AFSL 527875 (IM) is not the issuer of the product.
General Disclaimer
IMPORTANT STATEMENT ABOUT YOUR USE OF THIS SITE
Information on this site is intended for Australian users only.
This site is operated by Investment Markets (Aust) Pty Ltd. (ACN 634 057 248) (IMA, we, us and our), the holder of Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) no. 527875. The content is provided solely for information purposes, is not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell a security, and is not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. To the extent permitted by law, neither IMA, its affiliates, nor the content providers (such as the issuers of securities who appear on the site) are responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the content, data and analyses or their use. The investment products on this site and any statements made about them by their issuers are not vetted, verified or researched by IMA. The presence of an investment product on this site should not be interpreted as an implied endorsement of it by IMA. Certain content provided may constitute a summary or extract of another document such as a Product Disclosure Statement. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared by IMA. Any general advice has been provided without reference to your investment objectives, financial situations or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a financial advisor. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and, if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (or other offer document) before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate an investment product’s future performance. The content is current as at date of initial publication and may not be current as at your date of viewing. For a more complete understanding of all the terms and conditions of your use of this site click here.