Here is my medium / long term ASX LIC performance comparison of the most popular LICs against relevant ASX index ..read more

Every man and his dog with a social media account is commenting on the US election, and with theories on ..read more

According to an article on LICs from Firstlinks earlier this year, “the number of LICs listed on the ASX peaked ..read more

Here is my medium / long term ASX LIC performance comparison of the most popular LICs against relevant ASX index ETFs. Some years ago, I set up a sharesight portfolio of a lot of the large, popular ASX LICs to see at a glance how their performance looked in terms of total shareholder return. Those wanting to go back and look at ASX LIC performance comparisons for 2022 or ASX LIC performance on a longer term timeframe to 2023 can click on those links respectively. One important point to note about this is that it will include any movements in the discount / premium to NTA in the numbers. The lo ..read more

A few factors in recent times have led me to reflect on whether some funds known for shareholder activism perform well. Sometimes it is ironic to see these funds trade at large discounts to NAV, yet often the activists have criticized other funds for this very reason. In Australia, we are close to a decade from when a few activist style LICs launched, so surely that is long enough to judge to some extent? An overseas activist fund is slowly building up some stakes in ASX closed end funds, so I thought it would also be interesting to check out some US activist funds. Saba Capital Saba Capital M ..read more

This is a follow up post from a couple of weeks ago from my question whether IS LIC VG1 ASX ABOUT TO WIND UP OR CONVERT TO OPEN ENDED? – Value Investing for a living? What has happened since this above post? VG1 ASX DIVIDEND HISTORY On October 24th, VG1 ASX announced an update to target dividend policy – vg1 now targeting at least 5 cents per share, semi annually. At the time this would equate to a 6.5% annualized dividend yield, or 9.3% IF dividends are fully franked and the yield is grossed up for this. My emphasis above is on the IF in capitals, in terms of whether dividends may be fully fr ..read more

The following table coming up captures the performance of many of the most popular ASX Listed Investment Companies (LICs) for the financial year of 2022. When ASX LICs provide their own performance reporting within their ASX announcements, there is a range of ways they may choose to calculate such numbers. They could in theory leave out certain factors. For example, they could choose to display the numbers before investment management base and performance fees, directors’ fees and many other costs associated with keeping an ASX listing. They could remove the effect of dilutive capital raisings ..read more

A checklist for buying ASX Listed Investment Companies (LICs) shares A list of 10 factors to check as a guide when to buy, scroll down for further explanations on each. (Written first a few years ago but still relevant for ASX LICs in 2021 & 2022 I feel!). 1) Discount / Premium to NTA 2) Management Expenses and ALL other costs 3) Performance Track Record 4) Investment Style 5) Alignment of management’s interest with shareholders 6) Ownership Structure 7) Investment Management Agreement (IMA) 8) Size of the LIC 9) Future Dividend Capacity 10) Marketing / Reporting of the LIC When I look bac ..read more

How to buy ASX Listed Investment Companies (LICs) Or not to buy? Don’t fall for the hype of conflicted advice on ASX LICs IPOs and get hit with commissions Warning fictional post about an IPO of an ASX Listed Investment Company (LIC). There is so much cheap money around I fear that if I don’t include such a warning, some will think this is real and want me to send them the prospectus! Ok I come across so many articles about what to look for in an investment to buy, so I figured one that covered what factors to be wary of might be interesting.  The LIC universe has been expanding at a rapi ..read more

This blog post is referring to a very old study of Closed End Funds (CEFs) that I read this year. CEFs are the equivalent of what Australian investors usually refer to as ASX Listed Investment Companies (LICs). The study discusses in detail the typical life cycle of CEFs. It talks about why they often swing from premium to discount, and then back to NAV in a fickle manner. (post written first in 2019 and updated slightly for 2021, maybe the lessons are still not being learnt!) Closed end funds e.g ASX LICs vs open end funds / ETFs I previously linked to this study on this blog, but here it is ..read more