hi nicleeson
personally I am currently using the following global LICs :
Future Gen global
Watermark global leaders ( market neutral long /short )
Benjamin Hornigold
and have applied for $20K in VGI partners long/ short LIC
VGI have a good outperformance track record since 2009 with their unlisted ( wholesale only ) fund compounded annual return since 2009 to 30 June 2017 of 14.6% p.a. versus the MSCI world 10.7% p.a. Geoff Wilson seems to like them as they are a core holding in Future Gen global. the manager and company starter Robert Luciano seems to be highly regarded and they also have offices and staff in New York not just Sydney. I also like global managers with ability to hold lots of cash ( up to 50% ) and to use lots of shorting as this is a skill I don't possess or use myself personally. remember 2008 ?
I am also using Magellan, PM Capital, Platinum Asia and Antipodes in their unlisted versions, as I prefer to avoid the premiums and discounts to NTA that sometimes drive me crazy in this space.
I have looked at Contango global, Ellerston and Fat Prophets.
I don't like Contango global's maximum cash position of only 7% and their heavy leaning to long only growth type stocks such that their current portfolio overall PE ratio is a massive 33, very ripe for carnage in a market correction with very little cash and no shorting. Ellerston's market cap is too small for my liking and their daily liquidity is pretty low.
Fat Prophets global contrarian looks very interesting but I want to watch for a while to see how Angus Geddes performs.
For some reason it has traded most of the time at a hefty premium to NTA which I don't think is justified, but now the premium
has shrunken lately to be on par with NTA. might be worth a buy at a discount to NTA.
But for me the crazy discounts and premiums to NTA that abound in global LICs can be very frustrating. I understand that some
people think they can use them to their advantage. personally if I can access the same manager via an unlisted version in my Super funds, I prefer to do that, as I have been doing with Magellan, PM Capital, Platinum Asia and Antipodes. If I could not, then I would buy those LICs.
I strongly recommend you look at Antipodes (global long/short). their unlisted fund has well outperformed the market since started in 2015 despite including shorts and cash ( latest monthly report position 88% longs 23% shorts, 100% upmarket capture, 43% downmarket capture ) and their LIC market cap is a decent $373 million with pretty good liquidity. their CIO is Jacob Mitchell , formerly 14 years as portfolio manager at Platinum and is highly regarded. if they can outperform rising international markets despite using shorts and cash, they should do even better during down markets I hope.
