A View From The Hill, Spring 2015
Transcription
A View From The Hill, Spring 2015
A VIEW FROM THE HILL ™ A quarterly publication from Cedar Hill Associates, LLC SPRING 2015 // VOLUME 4 // ISSUE 2 The ABCs of Alternatives Chris Engelman, Managing Director Cedar Hill works closely with each of our clients to develop portfolios customized to their needs and risk preferences. For qualified investorsi, those portfolios may include alternative investments, such as hedge funds, private equity and real CHRIS ENGELMAN estate. Below, Managing Director Chris Engelman explains how Cedar Hill uses alternatives to meet our investors’ goals. Why do you implement alternatives in a portfolio? Cedar Hill can include alternative investments in client portfolios for a number of reasons. Depending on the investment, the goal might be to reduce portfolio volatility, enhance returns or introduce an investment that will react differently to economic news than traditional equities and fixed income securities. For one investor, we may implement a hedge fund allocation to reduce portfolio volatility and risk of loss while also gaining exposure to return sources beyond stocks and bonds. For another investor, we may focus on maximizing results by investing in private companies that are positioned for exponential earnings growth. While private equity investments offer significant capital appreciation potential by identifying a sustainable consumer products trend or a technological innovation, or by restructuring a company and improving profitability, losses could be severe if business plans are not executed properly. What is the best way to get started? Once we collaboratively identify a client’s investment objectives, we determine which type of alternative investment meets these needs and then proactively seek these opportunities. For investors new to alternative investments, we often start with a hedge fund of funds, which has more than a dozen underlying hedge fund managers and is well-diversified by strategy. This type of investment offers several advantages, including annual liquidity for those worried about locking up capital, as well as downside protection from a mix of long and short securities. In terms of risk, the next step up would be income-producing real estate funds and private debt investments that pay a consistent quarterly coupon, which some clients use to supplement their traditional fixed income investments. The underlying investments may be quite similar to what a public REIT or fixed income mutual fund may own, but since the investment is illiquid, investors should receive additional return for taking additional risk. Private equity, especially early-stage companies, is often the farthest out on the risk spectrum. An affiliate of MB Financial Bank 1 If hedge funds, private equity and real estate are so different, why are they lumped together as alternatives? Illiquidity is the common link among these three investment strategies, although the degree of illiquidity varies. Hedge funds offer partial liquidity, since investors are typically able to redeem at least annually. On the other hand, an investor in a private equity fund may not receive his last dollar back for 12 years after originally investing, though he would likely receive distributions along the way as underlying companies are sold. Most real estate investments offer better liquidity terms than private equity, though funds may still be locked up for three to seven years, depending upon the strategy. What should investors expect for tying up their capital? For private equity and real estate, we believe investors should target a 3% to 5% annual return premium above public equities. Because liquidity is more available for hedge funds, the return premium is lower, especially taking into consideration that hedge funds may have one-third to one-half of the volatility of publicly traded equities. Aside from liquidity, what other factors should investors consider before implementing alternatives? While there are too many risk factors to list hereii, important considerations include more complex tax reporting; the large dispersion between high- and low-returning funds with similar investment strategies; more complex strategies, which may require a higher level of investment knowledge to conduct proper due diligence; and the severity of losses, which may be quite high depending upon the type of strategy. How do you mitigate risk? There are three main ways we mitigate risk in our alternative investments. First, we invest with well-seasoned managers who have implemented their strategies through multiple market cycles successfully and aligned their interests with their investors, including investing a significant portion of their net worth in their fund. Second, we understand the types of risks that each manager takes and each investment’s potential downside. This allows us to weight each investment appropriately so that if we are wrong in our analysis, the investment does not affect the portfolio’s overall performance disproportionately. Finally, we and the underlying managers diversify our exposures. Managers have risk limits, including typically limiting the amount each investment represents to no more than 10% to 20% of the total fund, and we often limit each fund investment to no more than 2.5% of the portfolio. While past performance does not guarantee future returns, tempering risk has helped our clients proceed toward their financial goals through the use of alternative investments. i The alternative investment’s manager determines the level of qualification required to invest. Clients investing in alternatives usually must be a Qualified Client (i.e., a person with spouse having $1 million under management with the investment advisor or a net worth of $2 million excluding the value of their home) or must be a Qualified Purchaser owning investments of at least $5 million. ii Each alternative investment provides detailed offering documents to prospective investors which elaborate on investment strategy, administration, key person qualifications, investment risks, tax information and other disclosures. Market Outlook Declining oil prices and appreciating U.S. dollar slow down U.S. earnings growth Equity markets started the year off in relatively encouraging fashion, as each of the major global equity indices reported positive returns during the first quarter. Domestic equities posted their ninth consecutive quarter of gains, with the S&P 500 Index squeaking out a modest 1% return for the quarter. Although international markets have lagged U.S. equity returns in aggregate since the recovery from the Great Recession began, signs that the United States may be passing the reflation baton to non-U.S. markets began to emerge during the quarter. This was particularly evident in the international developed market index (MSCI EAFE), which reported a 4.9% first-quarter return. Recovery in the emerging market index (MSCI EM) was less pronounced, with the index gaining just 2.2%, but this figure still exceeded U.S. equity returns and marked a positive step toward stemming two consecutive years of losses in emerging markets. Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 2 Equity Market Total Returns 9% EAFE 7% Total Return 5% EM 3% S&P 500 1% -1% -3% The decline in oil prices and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar have been the most influential developments for the global markets over the last several quarters. From June 30, 2014, 5 3/ 31 /2 01 5 01 /2 28 2/ 12 1/ /3 31 1/ /2 20 01 14 5 -5% through March 31, 2015, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil dropped 55%, while the U.S. dollar appreciated 22%. WTI Oil Price 15 14 M ar 20 20 c De Se p 20 14 14 20 Ju n 14 ar M De c 20 20 13 13 20 p Se Ju n 20 13 13 20 M ar 20 c De 12 20 p Se 12 Trade-Weighted Dollar Index 12 20 n 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 Trade-Weighted USD Index 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Ju WTI Oil Price ($/bbl) Diverging Trends in Oil Prices and Currencies Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 3 While the drop in oil prices and the rise of the U.S. dollar are generally regarded as positive developments in the long term for the consumer-oriented U.S. economy, the short-term effects have been decidedly negative. Lower oil prices are pressuring energy sector payrolls, capital spending plans and profits. Meanwhile, the anticipated benefit of increased consumer spending from lower energy costs has significantly lagged the decline in oil prices. As a result, the S&P 500’s consensus earnings growth estimate has plummeted from 8.3% at the beginning of the year to just 2.5% currently, with most of that revision attributed to the energy sector’s deteriorating profit outlook. Although energy companies comprise a relatively modest 8% of the S&P 500, a projected 55.5% decline in energy sector earnings will drag down aggregate U.S. corporate profit growth significantly in 2015. 2015 Earnings Growth Projections for the S&P 500 Index (December 2014 versus March 2015) 30% 3/27/2015 12/31/2014 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% -30% -40% -50% While declining oil prices are mainly affecting earnings in the energy sector, the earnings headwinds from a strengthening dollar will be broader. Multinational companies across all sectors are likely to report more challenges in international revenue expansion in 2015, as a stronger dollar reduces export demand and produces foreign currency translation losses. With continued appreciation of the dollar against other global currencies, analysts have been ratcheting back profit expectations for companies with foreign currency exposure. International sales comprise roughly one-third of S&P 500 revenue, so the drag on total corporate profitability when the dollar strengthens may be significant. In fact, for 0 50 P rg y En e S& M at er ia ls le s Co ns um er St ap s tie ili Ut ic es Se hn o Te le co m Te c fo . In rv lo g y ls st r ia re In du Ca al th He er um Co ns Fi na n ci Di al sc . s -60% every 10 percentage points the U.S. dollar appreciates, earnings-per-share growth for the index declines by 2% to 3%. If oil prices recover during the year as expected or the dollar’s momentum slows, however, corporate earnings could grow more than expected in 2015. On the broader macro front, the U.S. economy remains the most robust developed market economy. Even so, its growth has become more moderate since the middle of 2014. In fact, recent economic data have fallen short of expectations by the most since 2009, as the Bloomberg U.S. Economic Surprise Index shows. Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 4 Bloomberg U.S. Economic Surprise Index 1.5 Index Level 1 0.5 0 -0.5 -1 Many forecasters now believe GDP growth downshifted in the first three months of 2015 to 2%, continuing the deceleration reported during the fourth quarter of 2014 (2.2%) relative to second and third quarter (4.8%). We expect this slowdown to be temporary, however. U.S. economic growth is likely to reaccelerate later in the year as weather conditions normalize after the harsh winter, currency headwinds stabilize, and shipping disruptions created by the West Coast port shutdowns dissipate. Additionally, with U.S. payrolls adding more than 200,000 jobs for 12 consecutive months, the strong labor market should boost consumer spending and drive GDP growth of 3% or more through the balance of the year. We believe equities can continue their positive momentum in 2015, though caution is warranted. U.S. equity valuations appear increasingly rich on an absolute basis, with the S&P 500 ending the quarter 17.5 times forward earnings versus the historical average of 16.4 times. As we’ve noted in the 15 20 12 20 09 20 06 20 03 20 20 00 -1.5 past, however, P/E multiples have a poor record of predicting shorter-term stock market performance. Moreover, a modest valuation premium for equities seems justifiable against the market backdrop of low interest rates, low inflation and limited attractive investment alternatives. That said, earnings growth will be the key to further stock market gains, as we believe the P/E multiple expansion story has largely run its course. While declining oil prices, a strengthening dollar and varying economic data could inject more short-term volatility into the markets during 2015, we remain optimistic about the sustainability of this bull market over the coming quarters. Market returns are almost certain to decline from the annualized gains of 20.7% achieved over the last six years. Nonetheless, we believe continued economic and corporate earnings expansion will sustain this rally and edge equity prices higher. Investment Overview Core Portfolio In the first quarter, we initiated new positions in Terex Corporation (TEX) and Discovery Communications (DISCA). Terex Corporation is a diversified global manufacturer of heavy industrial machinery, such as cranes, aerial work platforms and rock crushers. Unlike many of its industrial peers, Terex has not yet fully recovered from the 2008 recession. The company is much more levered to nonresidential construction, so it hasn’t been able to capitalize on the housing market recovery. Also, Terex has heavy exposure to Europe, where economic conditions remain challenging. While a number of its end markets remain soft and choppy, we believe the company’s depressed valuation and longer-term growth prospects create a compelling investment opportunity. Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 5 Discovery Communications is a media and entertainment company that owns domestic and international cable channels. The company’s global portfolio of wholly owned networks includes Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel (TLC), Animal Planet and Science Channel, among others. Discovery also has partial ownership in joint-venture channels OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, which it owns with Harpo Productions, and Discovery Family Channel, which it owns with Hasbro. Discovery owns virtually 100% of the content shown on its networks, which insulates it from the threat of cord-cutting that other media companies face. Also, the company’s ability to create low-cost content with broad appeal offers tremendous scale advantages over its peers and will allow Discovery to expand its enviable presence in faster-growing international markets. We sold our holdings in Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW), Microsoft (MSFT), C.H. Robinson (CHRW) and Nvidia (NVDA) during the first quarter. companies that we believe offer greater long-term earnings visibility. C.H. Robinson is a non-asset-based third-party logistics provider that mostly focuses on domestic truck brokerage (70% of net revenue). The company matches customers that have shipping needs, such as retailers and manufacturers, with customers who own shipping assets, such as truckers, and then collects a brokerage fee. With 22% market share, C.H. Robinson is the industry leader in this growing segment of the transportation sector, and we like the company’s prospects for continued earnings expansion. A downshift in the company’s long-term growth forecast suggests that C.H. Robinson’s historic premium valuation multiple could be at risk going forward, however. In light of this risk, we decided to exit our position in the stock and reallocate the proceeds in prospects that offer a better risk/return profile. Freeport-McMoRan is the world’s largest publicly traded copper and molybdenum producer. With copper accounting for roughly 80% of the company’s revenue, the decline in copper prices has affected the company’s profitability significantly. Longer-term, we believe that this company, or one of its competitors, will benefit from a recovery in copper prices. We do not see a catalyst for a near-term recovery in copper prices, however, so we exited our position in the stock to deploy those funds into better opportunities. As we enter the second quarter, we believe the portfolio is well-positioned for the challenges facing the markets in 2015 and 2016. Schwab operates in the brokerage, banking and asset management businesses. The company has done an admirable job of growing its asset base and earnings in recent years, particularly in light of the challenging interest rate environment. While Schwab will continue to expand its client reach and balance sheet in the coming years, we believe the company’s earnings growth in the near term could be somewhat constrained without a significant boost in short-term interest rates. As a result, we sold our holding in the firm to pursue investments with stronger future growth prospects. Nvidia is a leading provider of graphics chips that enhance the interactive experience on computing platforms. Its chips are used in a variety of products, including personal computers, handsets, gaming consoles and automobile infotainment devices. Although the company’s dominance in gaming graphics appears sustainable, Nvidia’s future growth will hinge on a successful foray into the automotive space, where it will face much more aggressive competition. Furthermore, the company could lose 30% of its earnings base in 2017 after a cross-licensing deal with Intel is scheduled to expire. Given that these potential challenges were not priced into the shares, which have risen 40% in the last six months, we sold our holding in the firm to fund investments with a more secure growth trajectory. Microsoft has done a commendable job of repositioning itself amid new computing trends and evolving customer preferences. Nonetheless, we have become increasingly concerned about the company’s core Windows franchise. While Microsoft’s transition to a mobile and cloud services firm is necessary for the company to remain relevant, we think the company could face more competition and lower margins going forward than it experienced under its traditional software licensing model. Thus, we decided to sell our position in Microsoft and redeploy the capital into As we enter the second quarter, we believe the portfolio is well-positioned for the challenges facing the markets in 2015 and 2016. Although we reduced the number of holdings in the portfolio during the first three months of the year, we used some of the cash raised in those sales to add to specific existing holdings that we believe have the best risk/return profile and to fund the new investments mentioned above. Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 6 Fixed Income Yields dip slightly during the quarter The yield curve shifted modestly lower in the first quarter, with yields on five- and 10-year Treasuries generally declining by a quarter of a percent. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury declined 25 basis points from the beginning of the year to end March at 1.92%. The Federal Reserve continues to prepare the market for eventual increases in short-term rates, although recent economic data suggests the Fed may wait a bit longer to begin this change than expected. Spreads on corporate bonds continued to widen during the quarter, as investors desired higher yields for taking incremental credit risk. Municipal bonds generally did not participate in the bond rally this quarter, and despite continued low absolute yields, tax-free bonds offer a more attractive investment opportunity than Treasuries. Treasury Yield Curve 3.5 12/31/2013 3 Yield (%) 2.5 12/31/2014 2 1.5 3/31/2015 1 Alternatives Trading-focused hedge funds benefit from market volatility and strong U.S. dollar Market volatility, especially in energy-related markets, and an appreciating U.S. dollar allowed Hedge Funds focused on trading strategies to post strong results in the first quarter, while those with more of a longer-term thematic or event focus lagged. Global Macro managers who invested alongside a rising U.S. dollar and volatility-oriented managers who position their portfolio to profit when markets move up or down quickly outperformed most major equity markets. While event-oriented managers profited from a number of merger announcements, volatile equity markets caused declines in other positions and offset some of these gains. The shift to momentum-driven trading from longer-term fundamental investing is part of a normal market cycle. Low interest rates continue to fuel investor demand for income, adding further upward pressure on the price of yield-oriented Real Estate properties. While cap rates are near historic lows, yield-oriented real estate appears r -y ea 10 r ye a 5- r ye a 2- 3- m on th 0.5 0 Maturity attractive relative to the yields available on U.S. government and corporate bonds. Assets with high-quality tenants and long lease terms command the highest premium in the marketplace. Also, aggressive lenders are offering attractive financing, which has helped drive prices higher. With the announcement of a merger between Kraft Foods and private equity-backed H.J. Heinz Co., Private Equity buyout deal value surged in the first quarter of 2015 to $97 billion. While this quarterly deal flow is the highest since the third quarter of 2007, this statistic is somewhat misleading, as the Kraft acquisition represents nearly 40% of this volume. A figure that better reflects the current environment is the total number of deals, which fell by 20% from the previous quarter, according to private equity industry data provider Preqin. Buyout deal activity is focused at the top of the market, which has skewed the total dollar value upward, with corporate buyers taking up a large chunk of deals as they seek top-line revenue growth. While private equity funds have committed capital to put to work, they are proceeding patiently and seeking the right opportunity at the right price. Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 7 Emergency Contact s a reminder, our website (www.cedhill.com) has an “Emergency” link under the Contact Us tab. In the event of an interruption A to normal business operations at our office, this link will redirect users to a Web page that will provide updates and alternative phone numbers for communications with clients and interested parties. In such an event, updates will be provided continually until operations are fully restored to normal. Disclosure This newsletter is intended to provide general information only and should not be construed as an offer of specifically tailored individualized advice or results. Clients or prospective clients should not assume that their performance will equal or exceed historical market results and/or averages. Specific securities identified do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold, or recommended for advisory clients, and the reader should not assume that investments in the securities identified and discussed were or will be profitable. Past performance is not indicative of any specific investment or future results. Views regarding the economy, securities markets or other specialized areas, like all predictors of future events, cannot be guaranteed to be accurate and may result in economic loss to the investor. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements (including words such as “believe,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “may,” “will,” “should,” and “expect”). Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Various factors could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Cedar Hill Associates, LLC 120 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1750, Chicago, Illinois 60603 // P 312/445-2900 // F 312/445-2901 Cedar Hill Associates, LLC