Welcome to Auscap’s January 2024 Newsletter titled Not Middle Of The Pack: Why We Back Australian Mid Caps.
Calendar year 2023 was a good year for the Auscap Long Short Australian Equities Fund, delivering 18.5% net to investors compared to 13.0% for the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index. The performance of markets over November and December, a period in which the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index gained 13%, demonstrates the folly in trying to time markets. A change in expectations around the future path of interest rates led to a sudden response in markets, with equities gaining in two months what would be a reasonably solid full year performance. It reiterates to us the merit of investing in a range of excellent businesses that are reasonably priced and holding this portfolio for a long time. In this newsletter we discuss the reason we focus on the mid cap universe, as well as detail the performance and portfolio positioning of the Auscap Funds in December 2023.