- March was dominated by macro events such as falling oil prices and rising interest rates, with the RBA hiking rates another 0.25% in early March. Inflation now looks to be moderating in Australia as the lagged impact of very aggressive monetary policy tightening from 2022 slowly grinds through the system.
- The Atlas High Income Property Fund declined by -4.7% on no stock-specific news, dragged down by the wider property sector that fell by close to -7%. In March, the biggest share price falls were seen in the developers after Charter Hall (-17%) revealed slowing deal flow. The Fund avoids developers and is populated with companies that offer stable earnings, growing ahead of inflation. The February reporting season saw portfolio companies increase dividends by an average of +12% and confirm stable asset occupancy, low gearing and long-dated debt.
- The Fund declared a quarterly distribution of $0.03 per unit for the March Quarter, roughly in line with the December Quarter’s distribution. The distribution will be paid to investors in early April, taking the annual yield to 7% for the year ending March 2023.
Go to Monthly Newsletters for a more detailed discussion of the listed property market and the fund’s strategy going into 2023.