Platinum, with Magellan and few others, is one of the premier Australian international fund. It actually was the first great Australian managed international fund.
Its shares have been going nowhere (mostly down) as the performance are lagging Platinum International 6.4% vs 19% MSCI Index, Asia 4.9% vs 10%. On a six month basis is even negative.
This shows great resilience of Platinum in front of a retail client.
A smart manager can see that the market is frothy and we are heading for a cliff. So it has to prepare the portfolio for the next cycle as he has a precise view of the risks and potential future.
But it also suffers backlash from clients (as cash outflows) as the retails clients see cheap ETF alternative as winners.
In the long run smart managers like Platinum, or Magellan are winners. But retail clients even if he knows that money (specially super) is for the long run – often say so, but see it differently.
This is a conundrum for the smart manager. and it is always sign of real skill to stay the course even in the face of market backlash.
investorpolitico 