9 Jun 2010 15:31
Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited (until 3 June 2010, Bramdean Alternatives Limited) (the "Company")
Factsheet April 2010
This Factsheet contains commentary and news for the month ended 30 April 2010, unless otherwise stated.
Overview
The Company is a Guernsey closed-ended investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Company invests in a diversified portfolio of Private Equity Funds, Hedge Funds and other Specialty Funds.
On 19 November 2009, the appointment of Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited as the investment manager of the Company in place of Bramdean Asset Management LLP was announced.
Subsequent Events
On 3 June 2010 the Board of the Company announced that at the class meeting of the US Dollar shareholders and extraordinary general meeting, both held on 3 June 2010, all resolutions were duly passed.
(a) The change of name of the Company to Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited (APEF.L) was approved by shareholders but still needs to be registered with the Registrar of Companies in Guernsey.
(b) The investment objective and policy of the Company was changed as described in the circular dated 10 May 2010.
(c) All of the Company's US Dollar shares will convert into Sterling shares, thereby simplifying the Company's capital structure. The conversion will be on the basis of the 28 May 2010 net asset value ("NAV"), anticipated to be published on, or around, 21 June 2010. The Listing of the US Dollar Shares will be cancelled on 2 July 2010.
(d) The waiver, granted by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, of the obligation that would otherwise arise on Elsina Limited (the Company's largest shareholder) to make a general offer to shareholders pursuant to Rule 9 of the City Code as a result of the share conversion proposal in (c) or in consequence of the Company repurchasing its own shares, was approved.
On 7 June 2010 the Company confirmed that the change of name had been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Guernsey and had become effective from that date.
April Estimated Net Asset Values
Sterling shares: 87.96 pence
US Dollar shares: US$ 0.7822
As described in the Company's prospectus, and as has been the case since its launch, the net asset value ("NAV") and the NAV per share are both calculated monthly by the Company's administrator based on the latest published NAV for each underlying fund.
With only one exception, investments in underlying funds for the month ended 30 April 2010 are valued using the values (whether final or estimated) as advised by their managers, general partners or administrators. The Company therefore relied on valuation and reporting methods used by the managers, general partners or administrators of the underlying funds in deriving the 30 April NAV and NAV per share. The remaining holding has been valued at a level recommended by the Company's Investment Manager.
| KEY FACTS |
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| Market Capitalisation | £78.3 million |
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| Investment Manager | Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited |
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| Annual Management Fee | 1.5% |
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| Performance fee | 10% subject to an 8% return and a high watermark |
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| Company Brokers | Matrix Corporate Capital LLP JPMorgan Cazenove |
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| Sterling class share price on 30 April 2010 | 58.00 pence |
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| Number of Sterling shares in issue | 90.825 million |
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| US Dollar class share price on 30 April 2010 | US$ 0.50 |
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| Number of US Dollar shares in issue | 78.384 million |
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| NAV publication | Monthly |
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| April Sterling Estimated NAV per share | 87.96 pence |
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| April US Dollar Estimated NAV per share | US$ 0.7822 |
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| Total Estimated Net Asset Value | US$ 183,588,788.15 |
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| Half-year end | 30 September |
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| Financial year end | 31 March |
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| Company Secretary and Administrator | RBC Offshore Fund Managers Limited |
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| Registrar | Capita Registrars (Guernsey) Limited |
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| Stock Exchange code (Sterling shares) | APEF.L (formerly BRAL) |
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| Stock Exchange code (U.S. Dollar shares) | APEU.L (formerly BRAU) |
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| Sedol code (Sterling shares) | B1XCHB9 |
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| Sedol code (U.S. Dollar shares) | B1XCLF1 |
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| ISIN code (Sterling shares) | GG00B1XCHB94 |
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| ISIN code (US Dollar shares) | GG00B1XCLF11 |
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| Source: Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited |
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APRIL MARKET COMMENTARY
In April the US and Japanese stock markets racked up small gains, but the UK and German markets slipped back slightly. Oil prices were higher, and Gold gained ground despite the strength of the Dollar as the financial crisis in Greece escalated.
The Dollar rallied slightly against the Euro, but fell back against Sterling and was broadly unchanged against the Yen.
At the Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke offered cautiously optimistic remarks on both the recovery and financial conditions. The Fed minutes gave the market some comfort that rates will continue to be held low for the near future. Other news came from the SEC who charged Goldman Sachs with fraud over the structuring and marketing of a sub-prime CDO in early 2007.
Data continued to reflect accelerated levels of activity in March. Institute of Supply Management jumped to recent cycle highs, earnings were better than expected, new home sales surged and existing home sales were up.
In Europe, all of the focus remained on Greece as the situation worsened. As expected, Greece asked for the support package offered by the EU and IMF. In addition Moody's cut the Greek credit rating to A3. Doubt over whether the support package will sustain Greece for long enough and growing concern that Greek debt may be restructured, were the main barriers to improved investor confidence.
Datawise, Purchasing Manager's Index, GDP data and Industrial production releases all came a distant second to the potential crisis unfolding in Greek government debt.
In the UK attention was focused on the May 6th General Election. A hung parliament is thought to be bad news for the markets as it brings ambiguity to major policy decisions; however each of the main party manifestos demonstrated a unified commitment to fiscal consolidation.
The Bank of England held rates at 50bp, as expected. Two key pieces of data caught the market by surprise. Firstly CPI showed a broad based rise reflecting both higher core goods and food prices. Secondly the Monetary Policy Committee's preliminary forecast for Q1 2010 growth undershot expectations. Sectors seen as a drag on growth tended to be either weather sensitive or volatile components of the index.
In Japan strong external demand from emerging Asian economies has continued to push up real exports. Domestic demand on the other hand seems to be slowing with imports actually falling in March. The Reuters Tankan survey of large manufacturers' business sentiment index rose in April to the neutral level of zero, for the first time since early 2008.
PORTFOLIO NEWS
The company remains committed to 16 Private Equity funds, with commitments totalling US$211.4 million. No new commitments were made during April. The total drawn down on commitments made is approximately US$119.4 million, with eight capital calls being made in April, totalling US$3.1 million. The company has received total distributions of US$6.4 million since inception, with US$ 879,155 received in April. Revaluations were received from 12 managers in April, seven were downwards revaluations and five were upwards revaluations. (All figures sourced from Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited.)
Following a slow start to the year, we have seen a number of LPs that we are invested in enter into some large transactions, hence why the pace of drawdowns picked up over the month. This suggests that the market has picked up and we have been beneficiaries of this on the other side as well, as a number of underlying companies have agreed sales. We expect the distribution proceeds from these to come before the end of 2010.
In the last factsheet released, we advised that we would update on our holding in Aarkad. Since then, the company and all of its related entities have entered administration with a view to liquidating the portfolio of loans and returning proceeds to investors. Ernst & Young are conducting this process, but it is very much in the early stages.
In conjunction with the Company's change of strategy to be a fund of private equity funds which was voted on at the EGM on the 3 June 2010, we have submitted redemption requests for all of our strategic hedge fund holdings. In keeping with the state of the hedge fund market however, some of our holdings are gated i.e. not available to redeem at the moment. This represents less than 1% of the NAV and dialogue with the specific managers suggests that we can expect proceeds back over the course of the calendar year.
The portfolio's commitment cover which includes cash and the strategic hedge funds was 89.3% at the end of the month.
Portfolio Highlights
Geographical Allocation
| North America 56.9% |
| Europe 6.0% |
| Global 33.1% |
| Asia & Other 4.0% |
Portfolio Holdings Asset Allocation
| Cash 42.5% |
| Private Equity Funds 51.7% |
| Specialty Funds 2.5% |
| Strategic Hedge Funds 3.3% |
Source: Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS (INVESTED CAPITAL) ON 30 April 2010
| Manager | Type | Portfolio Weighting |
| Cash | Cash | 42.54% |
| Oaktree OCM Opportunities Fund VIIb LP | Private Equity | 10.32% |
| Greenpark International Investors III LP | Private Equity | 6.13% |
| Coller International Partners V LP | Private Equity | 3.91% |
| Thomas H Lee Parallel Fund VI LP | Private Equity | 3.76% |
| SVG Strategic Recovery Fund II LP | Private Equity | 3.56% |
| Silver Lake Partners III LP | Private Equity | 3.35% |
| MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners III LP | Private Equity | 3.18% |
| DFJ Athena LP | Private Equity | 3.08% |
| Paulson Advantage Plus Ltd | Strategic Hedge Funds | 2.77% |
| HIG Bayside Debt & LBO Fund II LP | Private Equity | 2.57% |
| Tenaya Capital V LP | Private Equity | 2.46% |
| Goldman Sachs Capital Partners VI LP | Private Equity | 2.30% |
| Terra Firma Capital Partners III LP | Private Equity | 1.82% |
| Pine Brook Capital Partners LP | Private Equity | 1.73% |
| Resonant Music LP | Specialty | 1.71% |
| Thoma Bravo Fund IX LP | Private Equity | 1.46% |
| Rho Ventures VI LP | Private Equity | 1.21% |
| PineBridge Latin America Partners II LP (formerly AIG Brazil Special Situations II LP) | Private Equity | 0.89% |
| Aarkad Plc | Specialty | 0.76% |
| Deephaven Global Multi-Strategy Fund Ltd | Strategic Hedge Funds | 0.47% |
| King Street Capital Ltd | Strategic Hedge Funds | 0.03% |
Source: Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited
Cash: The Company currently invests its cash with counterparties that appear on Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited's approved lending list.
Strategic Hedge Funds: The part of the Company's portfolio formerly managed by Man Investments (CH) AG).
DISCLAIMER
This Factsheet update has been produced by Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") in the United Kingdom. Bramdean Asset Management LLP was the Company's investment manager for the period prior to 19th November 2009 and Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd has been the Company's investment manager for the period since 19th November 2009.
This material constitutes a financial promotion for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "Act") and the handbook of rules and guidance issued from time to time by the FSA (the "FSA Rules").
This material is provided for information purposes, is intended for your use only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to subscribe for or purchase any of the products or services mentioned. This material has been provided specifically for the use of the recipient only and must be treated as proprietary and confidential information. It may not be passed on, nor reproduced in whole or in part under any circumstances without express written consent from Aberdeen. The material provided is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision. Information and opinions presented in this material have been obtained or derived from sources believed by Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd and its affiliates to be reliable, but Aberdeen makes no representation as to their accuracy or completeness. Aberdeen accepts no liability for loss arising from the use of this material. Aberdeen gives no representations or warranty that any indicative performance or return will be achieved in the future or that the investment objectives and policies from time to time of the Company will be achieved.
You should note that, if you choose to invest in the Company, your capital will be at risk and you may therefore lose some or all of any amount that you choose to invest. This material is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
Potential investors in the Company should seek their own independent financial advice. Aberdeen neither provides investment advice to, nor receives and transmits orders from, investors in the Company nor does it carry on any other activities with or for such investors that constitute "MiFID or equivalent third country business" for the purposes of this FSA Rule.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT A RELIABLE INDICATOR OF FUTURE RESULTS.
Please note that up-to-date information on the Company, including its monthly NAV and share prices, factsheets, Annual Report and Financial Statements, Prospectus and portfolio information can currently be found at www.aberdeenprivateequity.co.uk.
Capita Registrar's helpline is 0871 664 0300 (calls cost 10 pence per minute plus network extras, lines are open 8.30am-5.30pm Monday-Friday). For callers outside the UK, please dial: +44 20 8639 3399.
Registered Office: Canada Court, Upland Road, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3QE, Channel Islands.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited
Ian Massie
Head of Investment Trust Investor Relations
E: ian.massie@aberdeen-asset.com T: +44 (0)131 528 4123