Author: Hugh Dive

• The Atlas High Income Property Fund had a steady month gaining +0.4% a pleasing outcome in a month that saw markets globally fall between -2% and -5%. Uneven market conditions tend to suit the investment style of the Fund and our conservative stock selection. This occurs due to the Fund collecting income from call options sold that have expired out of the money and the market favouring stable rent collecting companies during times of uncertainty.
  
• The Fund declared a quarterly distribution of $0.035 per unit for the September Quarter, a slight increase over the June quarter. The distribution was paid to investors in early October.

Go to Monthly Newsletters for a more detailed discussion of the listed property market and the fund’s strategy going into 2022.

Cheap energy shares: good value or a trap?

This is causing some investors to question whether the strength in energy prices is sustainable. Of the broader commodity set, oil markets have been one of the hardest hit by COVID-19 and, given the materiality of transportation to demand, is yet to fully recover.

‘Getting punched in the face’: Investors brace for iron ore falls as China tensions linger

Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Fund managers are bracing for continued pressure on iron ore prices, with China’s moves to curb steel production to limit air pollution poised to squeeze share prices of big name miners and threaten federal government tax revenue.

• The Atlas High Income Property Fund had a very strong month gaining +6.3% as real estate assets continued to recover from their falls in 2020. Twelve months ago, the prevailing view was that most real estate and infrastructure assets would be become “stranded assets”, permanently collecting a fraction of expected cash flows. This view has proved incorrect, with most trusts collecting rent due from tenants managing their businesses through the pandemic and infrastructure assets operating at close to full capacity when restrictions are lifted.
• We were pleased with the financial results presented in August from the companies we own in the Fund. The common themes were profits recovering, rents being collected, and positive management commentary on the outlook for 2022. There was no repeat of the GFC-era debt crisis in 2021 for the listed property sector as due to conservative gearing and long debt maturities, no trusts were forced sellers of assets over the past 12 months.

Go to Monthly Newsletters for a more detailed discussion of the listed property market and the fund’s strategy going into 2022.

How to ride the dividend wave

Together, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group contributed $18 billion in dividends in the latest reporting season, thanks to soaring iron ore prices, says Ausbil. That’s unlikely to be repeated this financial year as iron ore prices retreat.