Nedbank Mining & Resource amalgamation - 01 Nov 03 - Official Announcement30 Oct 2003
On the 1 November 2003, due to the amalgamation of various manco's thie FTNIB Mining & Resource Fund has changed its name to Nedbank Mining & Resource Fund. This fund is part of the Active Return Range.
FTNIB Mining & Resources comment - Sep 03 - Fund Manager Comment22 Oct 2003
Following the strong performance of August 2003, the R/$ exchange rate re-emerged as a key driver of resources performance. This resulted in a reasonably sharp sell-off towards the end of September.
The stars for the quarter were Ashanti, Mvela Resources, Iscor, Avmin and Armgold. These exceptional performances were to some extent offset by the substantial underweight position in platinum, which was one of the best performing sectors. The fund added substantially to Kumba and Transhex while Illovo Sugar is a new holding.
The fund manager's continue their cautious outlook for the resources market given the long term concerns about the US economy. In the short-term, however, global economic news appears to be improving, which has resulted in the strong rally in resources shares. The fund manager's continue their cautious approach given that currency strength will constrain margins and that most of the rise in commodity prices has been due to speculative activity. Fundamental demand needs to pick up in order to support prices at current levels. For now, the fund manager's believe it is appropriate for the fund to be relatively defensively positioned.
FTNIB Mining & Resources fund manager change - Official Announcement23 Apr 2003
Nedcor Retail Investments have now adopted the strategy of outsourcing the investment management of their unit trust funds on a "best of breed" basis, either within the wider Nedcor group where performance and skills substantiate this, or to third-party asset managers.
As a result, from 18 March 2003, the FT NIB Mining & Resources Fund will now be managed by Kurt Benn of Quaystone. Kurt has successfully managed the BoE Value Fund for over three years and has consistently achieved top quartile performance over one, two and three years. He started his investment career as a resources analyst nearly a decade ago and his proficiency in this area, enhanced by his broader investment skills, has contributed significantly to the outperformance of the BoE Value Fund. The Quaystone resource team will support Kurt in the management of this fund.
FTNIB Mining & Resources comment - Mar 03 - Fund Manager Comment23 Apr 2003
Comment for period 1 January 2003 to 17 March 2003
A strong rand was the key driver of resource equity performance during the quarter. The All Resource index fell by 13%. The worst performing sector was gold, with the JSE Gold index falling 24% in the period. Sasol also performed poorly, ending 17% lower at 8701 cps. The global diversified counters held up relatively well, with Anglo American falling 6% in the period.
The fund benefited from a high weighting in Anglo American and Billiton, as well as its derivative position.
Resource equities should continue to underperform the market during the first half of this year, as the full impact of the stronger rand feeds through into reported earnings. The underperformance will be exacerbated by the pullback in platinum, gold and oil prices. Bruce Tinney, FT NIB
Comment for period 18 March 2003 to 31 March 2003 - Kurt Benn, Quaystone
Poor global equity markets and the release of the Money Bill adversely impacted mining shares in general, and were the primary drivers for the fund's decline during the last two weeks of March. The large position in platinum and gold shares, which performed particularly poorly during the period, also had a material impact on performance.