Plato Australian Shares Income Fund

The Plato Australian Shares Income Fund is a long-only equity income fund managed specifically for zero tax investors who can utilise franking credits. These investors include, but are not limited to pension phase investors, SMSFs and charities.

The investment process aims to generate a higher gross yield (including franking credits) as well as maximise the total return including franking credits, primarily via holding stocks which pay franked dividends. The Fund has a recommended investment time-frame of 3 to 5 years.

Benefits

• Specific fund for pension-phase investors / SMSFs and charities
• Investments tailored for after-tax income maximisation
• Franking credits are priced into unit price
• Active dividend rotation is an integral part of the investment process to alleviate permanent sector biases.
• Highly rated and regarded by leading fund research houses
• One of Australia’s most highly qualified investment teams with 5 PhD’s and over 200 years investment experience

Plato’s philosophy is centred on the belief that the market is a complex, adaptive system and is therefore never fully efficient. These market inefficiencies are derived from informational, behavioural and structural (e.g. tax) sources.

Some of these sources of return are exploited on a long-term, strategic time horizon and others are extracted on a short-term, tactical basis. Plato asserts that the best way to exploit these inefficiencies is through a systematic investment approach.

Plato’s philosophy is that high-quality companies, selling at a discount to intrinsic value with a catalyst and positive sentiment, tend to outperform the market. In contrast, low quality companies, selling at a premium to intrinsic value with a negative catalyst/sentiment, tend to underperform the market. Plato’s investment process can be best characterised as a “systematic implementation of fundamental ideas”.

Plato translates its stock selection insights into a coherent, risk-controlled portfolio using optimisation.

This accounts for the expected returns, the expected risks, and the expected trading costs of each stock, together with the correlation between each stock. Plato does not set target allocations to investment sectors or geographical locations as these can vary depending on market opportunities.

To further help identify potential out and underperformers, Plato employs 100 Red Flags. These span corporate governance, remuneration, forensic accounting, financial distress, and social and environmental impacts. For example, a company may have an entrenched board, aggressive revenue recognition, and low liquidity.

When a company has a large number of Red Flags (for example, greater than 6) across a number of categories, Plato will tend not to invest in that stock. If a stock is already held, an increase in the number of Red Flags may provide the trigger for Plato to sell the position. Generally, a company’s Red Flags will not be the sole determinant of whether or not a security is held.

The number of Red Flags is taken into account alongside Plato’s evaluation of corporate Quality, Intrinsic Value, and Sentiment/Catalyst.

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All website content in respect of the Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (ARSN 152 590 157) (the Fund) is issued by Pinnacle Fund Services Limited ABN 29 082 494 362 AFSL 238 371 (“PFSL”) as responsible entity of the Fund and is prepared by Plato Investment Management Limited (ABN 77 120 730 136) (AFSL 504616) (“Plato”) as the investment manager of the Trust. PFSL is not licensed to provide financial product advice.

The information provided in this website is of a general nature only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision in respect of the Fund, you should consider the current product disclosure statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) of the Fund and the Fund’s other periodic and continuous disclosure announcements lodged with the ASX, which are available at www.asx.com.au, and assess whether the Fund is appropriate given your objectives, financial situation or needs. If you require advice that takes into account your personal circumstances, you should consult a licensed or authorised financial adviser.

Neither PFSL nor Plato guarantees repayment of capital or any particular rate of return from the Fund. Neither PFSL nor Plato gives any representation or warranty as to the currency, reliability, completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this website. All opinions and estimates included in this website constitute judgments of Plato as at the date of website creation and are subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Ratings Disclaimer

¹The Zenith Investment Partners (ABN 27 103 132 672, AFS Licence 226872) (“Zenith”) rating (assigned June 2022) referred to in this piece is limited to “General Advice” (s766B Corporations Act 2001) for Wholesale clients only. This advice has been prepared without taking into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any individual, including target markets of financial products, where applicable, and is subject to change at any time without prior notice. It is not a specific recommendation to purchase, sell or hold the relevant product(s). Investors should seek independent financial advice before making an investment decision and should consider the appropriateness of this advice in light of their own objectives, financial situation and needs. Investors should obtain a copy of, and consider the PDS or offer document before making any decision and refer to the full Zenith Product Assessment available on the Zenith website. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Zenith usually charges the product issuer, fund manager or related party to conduct Product Assessments. Full details regarding Zenith’s methodology, ratings definitions and regulatory compliance are available on our Product Assessments and at Fund Research Regulatory Guidelines.

²The Lonsec Rating (Plato Australian Shares Income Fund (Class A) assigned September 2022) presented in this document is published by Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN 11 151 658 561 AFSL 421 445. The Rating is limited to “General Advice” (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) and based solely on consideration of the investment merits of the financial product(s). Past performance information is for illustrative purposes only and is not indicative of future performance. It is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold Plato product(s), and you should seek independent financial advice before investing in this product(s). The Rating is subject to change without notice and Lonsec assumes no obligation to update the relevant document(s) following publication. Lonsec receives a fee from the Fund Manager for researching the product(s) using comprehensive and objective criteria. For further information regarding Lonsec’s Ratings methodology, please refer to our website at: https://www.lonsec.com.au/fund-manager/investment-product-ratings.

³Evergreen Research Pty Ltd trading as ERIG Index ABN 17 647 506 590 is AuthorisedRepresentative 001289533 of Evergreen Fund Managers Pty Ltd ABN 75 602 703 202AFSL 486275. The material is for the information purposes of non-retail clients only. It is not, and is not to be construed as, advice or a recommendation to acquire, hold or dispose of financial products or to use financial services. The ERIG Index measures only the Responsible Investment capabilities of funds. It does not assess the performance or other features of the funds.