Pengana Global Volatility Fund (Australian Feeder Fund)
Awards
Standard & Poor's Fund Awards - Winner Innovative Fund of the Year 2007
Fund Overview
The Pengana Global Volatility Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investors with an actively traded derivative strategy focused on volatility. The Strategy trades in equity index futures, options and other volatility-based instruments and derives returns from mispricing of these instruments due to changes in volatility. It can assist with risk mitigation in a portfolio. The Strategy was established by Alvin Wilkinson and Pengana, and is managed by the Global Volatility team. The Strategy began trading in November 2007. Initially it will focus on the S&P 500 and be progressively expanded to trade other major indices.
Performance
Accumulated Fund and Comparative Benchmark Performance Since Inception to end April 2010
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Pengana Global Volatility Fund (Australian Feeder Fund)
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S&P 500
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HFRX Volatility Index
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Pengana Global Volatility Fund (Australian Feeder Fund)
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S&P 500
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HFRX Volatility Index
Please note that fund performance shown is for the A$ A Class Units of the Pengana Global Volatility Fund (Australiana Feeder Fund). The performance of other unit classes may differ.
The Fund began trading in May 2008. Performance for the period prior to May 2008 is the performance of all underlying assets managed in the Pengana Global Volatility Strategy. Performance from May 2008 is for the money managed in the Fund itself.
Inception Dates: Class A Units – 07 November 2007, Class B Units – 31 December 2007
Total return performance figures are derived from the Manager’s records and are shown after management fees and performance fees, and assume reinvestment of income. Investments can go up and down. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The Pengana Global Volatility Fund seeks to extract value from changes in investor sentiment as measured by the implied volatility in option contracts. The Volatility Index (VIX), sometimes referred to as the “Fear Index” is one such measure of implied volatility as related to the S&P 500. The Fund aims to take advantage of opportunities within equity index options that result from investors’ mispricing of volatility.
The Fund is not dependent on the direction of the equity market and may perform well in both rising and falling markets. It is designed to protect capital in periods where there is a catastrophic event and will perform particularly well in heightened volatility environments when mis-pricing is at its greatest. It is uncorrelated with equity markets and other major asset classes.
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Alvin Wilkinson - Principal Portfolio Manager
Al Wilkinson has over 22 years experience in trading S&P Index Options and has been a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) since 1986. He served on the Board of the CBOE for over eight years, is widely credited with the creation of the VIX (Volatility Index) during this period, and led the effort to develop and list volatility futures known as “VIX Futures”. Al is a past Chairman of the Index Market Performance Committee, the Financial Planning Committee, the CBOE Membership Committee as well as a past Chairman of the Chicago Futures Exchange (“CFE”) Advisory Committee, and several other committees. Al is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Kansas City Board of Trade. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland in 1982.
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John McGuinness - Director of Index Derivatives
John McGuinness has over 25 years experience on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) been an independent Market Maker for more than 20 years. For the last seven years he was with Ronin Capital, being one of the leaders for the company in capital utilization. John has served on the Board of the Independent Floor Members Association from 1991 to 1995 and on the board of the LaSalle Club of Chicago from 2002 to 2005.
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Michael Merucci - Trader
Mike Merucci joined Pengana in November 2007, bringing with him around 20 years of experience in the industry. From 1988 he traded in Standard & Poor’s as well as Dow Jones indices as an Independent Market Maker with Letco Trading. Michael also managed risk and positions for other traders in the firm until 2002, when he started his own business. Until 2005 he then traded in pit and on screen based platforms for his self owned and operated business. As a member of Cassandra Trading, Michael then traded NASDAQ, Russell 2000 and equity products from 2002 to October 2007. He is an active member on various Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) committees, including Facilities (1991-1993), Index Floor Procedures (1994-1996, 1998-2001), Index Market Performance (2001-2004), Financial Planning (2002-2004) and CBOE Floor Official (2001-2004). Michael has represented the CBOE at industry seminars and marketing events as a crowd representative of the Dow Jones and S&P pits. He attended Michigan State University on an Evans Scholarship, graduating with a B.A. in Finance.
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James H. Corcoran - Trader
Jim Corcoran began his career in derivatives trading when he joined Letco Trading’s Standard and Poor’s 100 Index (OEX) market-making operation in 1996. In 1997, Letco promoted James to an independent trading position on the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (“CBOE’s”) equity options floor. During that period he made markets in a portfolio of tech and financial stocks, ending with the 2002 acquisition of Letco by Toronto-Dominion Bank. James then formed his own firm and continued to trade equity options as a CBOE market maker. In 2004, as equity volatilities cooled, he left the CBOE floor in order to apply options trading strategies in the increasingly volatile commodity marketplaces including the Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”) grains and NYMEX natural gas complexes. Before working in the derivatives industry James worked in real estate banking in Chicago and in financial analysis for Northwest Airlines in Tokyo, Japan. James earned a BA in Economics with special honours from the University of Chicago in 1992.
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Thomas P. Shanahan - Trader
Tom Shanahan began his derivatives career in 1988 with O’Connor and Associates as an option specialist and market maker in equity and index products on the floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. He was appointed a Director at UBS upon its acquisition of O’Connor in 1991 and continued as a risk manager and trader. In 1996, Tom joined LETCO Trading on the CBOE as an independent market maker where he subsequently co-founded the KFT DPM, an on and off floor specialist trading unit. In 2002, after the sale of LETCO to Toronto Dominion, he became a sector manager for Toronto Dominion specializing in the energy and metals books. In 2003, Tom Joined Ronin Capital in Chicago as a proprietary options trader applying his expertise in energy markets to volatility arbitrage and commodities futures trading. Tom joined Pengana in September 2008 and brings a strong energy expertise to our team. He is a frequent co-host on the popular financial radio show “Stocks and Jocks” in Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Science degree in Finance from Temple University.
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Scott Hoover - Director of IT Services
Scott Hoover has been in the futures and commodities business since 1987. In 1993 he moved over to the financial floor at Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”) where his employer, Stuart Investments, was the beta tester for start up firm Prime Analytics that was developing the ProOpticus software. Scott became the main contact for the ProOpticus developers, and in 2000 he was hired as a senior technical analyst by Prime Analytics due to his extensive knowledge of the software and the trading of options. He met Al Wilkinson who was using ProOpticus at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) and together they developed it into the top index option analytic software in the SPX pit. Scott received a Finance degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1986.
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Aileen James - Associate Director of IT Services
Aileen James began working as a Market Reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”) in 1997. She was hired by Prime Analytics, LLC in 2001 as a technical analyst for the ProOpticus risk management software. Within a year, Aileen was promoted to senior technical analyst. She helped many customers grow their companies into highly successful trading firms while consistently increasing revenue for Prime Analytics, LLC. In July 2008, Aileen joined the Pengana Global Volatility Fund Team.
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David Piotrowski - Trader
Dave Piotrowski has worked at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) since 1998. For the past 10 years, he worked for the options company QRH LCC. While there, he worked on all aspects of options trading, from accounting work and software, to pit and screen based trading. Since 1999, Dave has gained experience in equity trading, futures trading, and index trading, with most of his time being an index market maker. Dave has traded in the Dow Jones, Standard and Poor’s, and OEX indices.
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Thomas Foertsch - Operations Manager
Tom Foertsch joined Pengana in March 2009 with over 25 years of experience at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He was a member of the CBOE and an independent Market Maker from 1985 to 1989, trading in the S&P 100 index pit. Upon joining the CBOE as an employee in 1989, he became a director in the Trading Operations Division. For 17 years, Thomas ran the day-to-day operations in the S&P 500 index pit. He also played a large role in the development of customized FLEX options at the CBOE and helped develop the CFLEX trading platform. Thomas served as an active member on numerous member committees at the CBOE, including Floor Official Committee (2005-2008), Index Option Procedure Committee (1993-2008), and Index Market Performance Committee (2005-2008).
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Charley Fetzer - Associate
Charley Fetzer joined the Pengana Global Volatility Fund Team in June of 2008. Charley attended Miami University on an athletic scholarship. He graduated in May of 2008 with a B.A. in Political Science. Charley joined the team to assist members in daily tasks and clerical services.
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| Fund Style |
Equity index derivatives (futures and options) |
| Fund Objective |
To generate net returns of more than 20% per annum over rolling 3 year periods, with a low correlation to equity markets and other trading strategies |
| Fund Benchmark |
None |
| Launch Date |
November 2007 |
| Identification Code(s) |
none |
| Management Fees1 |
Class A: 2% per annum, payable monthly in arrears
Class B: 0.5% per annum, payable monthly in arrears |
| Performance Fees1 |
Class A: 20%, of the increase in value each quarter
Class B: 30%, of the increase in value each quarter |
| Trustee Fee |
0.2% per annum of the net asset value of the Fund |
| Investors |
Wholesale Clients only |
| Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
$100,000 |
1 All percentages are on a GST inclusive basis less applicable reduced input tax credits. Please refer to the Information Memorandum for a more detailed explanation.
Pengana Global Volatility Fund (Australian Feeder Fund) - Class A
| Date |
Application A$ |
Redempion A$ |
Distribution in A$ |
History |
| 30/04/2010 |
0.8821 |
0.8821 |
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Click to view
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* CUM price
** Ex distribution
Pengana Global Volatility Fund (Australian Feeder Fund) - Class B
| Date |
Application A$ |
Redempion A$ |
Distribution in A$ |
History |
| 30/04/2010 |
0.8092 |
0.8092 |
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Click to view
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* CUM price
** Ex distribution
Please note that the Fund is currently only available to Wholesale Clients (also sometimes known as “Sophisticated Investors”), and the minimum initial investment amount is A$100,000. Australian and New Zealand residents may wish to view the definition of a Wholesale Client here.
The Financial Services Guide is an important document that tells you about the services and products that Pengana Capital Limited is authorised to provide to you under the Australian Financial Services Licence. Please ensure you have read this document prior to downloading the Information Memorandum below.
In order to make an investment in this Fund, please fill in, sign and submit an application form which can be found in the Information Memorandum.
Please supply the investor-type relevant Wholesale Client’s accountant’s certificate with your application. Templates of this certificate are available from a member of our distribution team listed below.
In order to comply with regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering and counter terrorism financing, which came into effect on 31 January 2008, we are now required to obtain more detailed identification information from any new investors into the Pengana funds. Please refer to the below section “New Application Requirements under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006” for further information and the forms which are now required.
Should you wish to make on additional investment in the Fund, please send a formless fax or letter to the registry contact stated on the application form, informing them of the amount you wish to invest along with your name(s), the account details your funds will be coming from and your investor number. This document must be signed by all original applicants. A standard electronic transfer into the Fund’s account is sufficient to finalise the application of additional funds. Alternatively, you can post a cheque, made payable to the Fund’s account as stated on the application form.
If you would like a copy of the Information Memorandum posted to you, please email your name and address to: operations@pengana.com
For any questions regarding the application process please contact:
Institutional Clients: Denis Carroll, +61 2 8524 9974, denis.carroll@pengana.com
Private Clients: Juliet Dunworth, +61 2 8524 9984, juliet.dunworth@pengana.com
Advisors: Justin Brooks, +61 3 8663 7906, justin.brooks@pengana.com
Requirements
Therefore, we have prepared the “Know Your Customer Information” forms set out below. You will find separate forms for different types of investors, such as Individual/Sole Trader, Company, Trust (Including SMSF) and Other Organisation.
We must receive the relevant completed form and any additional verification information identified in the form before we can accept any applications from new investors into the Pengana funds.
If we have not received the completed relevant “Know Your Customer Information” form and any additional verification information required within two weeks of receiving the original application (or longer if the compliance officer agrees) then we will have to refuse the application and return the application monies without any interest payment.
Scope
Any new direct investors, or existing investors who wish to invest directly into any Pengana fund under a different investor name or entity, are required to provide the relevant “Know Your Customer Information” form.
Please note that we do not require a completed form from any existing investor in the Pengana funds, provided the investment is made in the same name. This includes existing investors who are topping up their investment in a Pengana fund or investing into another Pengana fund.
Due to the complex nature of the application of the new regulations to the fund manager / platform provider as well as fund manager / margin lender relationship, please refer to your platform provider or margin lender in the first instance as to whether you may be required to supply a Pengana “Know Your Customer Information” form with your application.
| Know your Customer Information - Individual/Sole Trader |
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| Know your Customer Information - Trust (including SMSF) |
Click to view
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| Know your Customer Information - Company |
Click to view
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| Know your Customer Information - Other Organisation |
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