DNR Capital is pleased to announce that the Australian Emerging Companies Fund1 has been named a finalist in the 2025 Morningstar Australia Awards in the Domestic Equities – Small Caps category.
The Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence recognise outstanding fund managers in Australia, with finalists selected based on rigorous evaluation by Morningstar’s Manager Research analysts. The selection process considers a combination of research insights, risk-adjusted medium- to long-term performance track records and results achieved in the 2024 calendar year.
The DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund provides investors with access to a high-conviction portfolio of quality small-cap Australian equities. The Fund is managed by Portfolio Managers Sam Twidale and Mark Sedawie, who apply DNR Capital’s quality investment philosophy—focusing on businesses with strong earnings potential, superior industry positions, sound balance sheets, experienced management teams and ESG risk considerations.
“We are extremely pleased with this nomination which acknowledges our team’s commitment to a disciplined bottom-up stock selection process. We focus on identifying quality companies at attractive valuations,” said Twidale.
The Fund’s investment strategy involves a concentrated approach, holding 20 to 45 high-conviction positions. The portfolio is constructed through detailed valuation assessments, capitalising on market inefficiencies and mispriced opportunities.
“Our assessment of a company’s quality is complemented by a disciplined approach to valuations, seeking to exploit market inefficiencies. We believe market breadth could start to improve, with an improving earnings outlook driven by a potential interest rate cutting cycle or a strengthening economy,” Twidale added.
The DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund delivered strong returns in 2024, showcasing the resilience of high-quality businesses in a challenging market. Since its inception in August 2018, the Fund has delivered an annualised return of 13.72%p.a., outperforming the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Total Return Index by 9.87%p.a.2
The Fund has been awarded a Silver rating by Morningstar and ‘Highly Recommended’ rating from both Zenith and Lonsec, underscoring its strong return credentials and disciplined management approach.
1 DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund, ARSN 627 783 957, APIR: PIM4357AU
2 Performance for the DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund is net of fees as of 31 December 2024. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This media release has been prepared and issued by DNR Capital Pty Ltd, AFS Representative – 294844 of DNR AFSL Pty Ltd ABN 39 118 946 400, AFSL 301658 as the investment manager of the DNR Capital Funds. The Trust Company (RE Services) Limited ABN 45 003 278 831 AFSL No 235150 (as part of the Perpetual Limited group of companies) is the responsible entity and issuer of units in DNR Capital Funds. It is general information only and is not intended to provide you with financial advice and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the product disclosure statement (PDS) for the relevant DNR Capital Fund, prior to making any investment decisions. The PDS and target market determination (TMD) can be obtained for free by calling DNR Capital on 07 3229 5531 or by visiting the Fund website dnrcapital.com.au/invest. If you require financial advice that takes into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs, you should consult your licensed or authorised financial adviser. This information is only as current as the date indicated and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons. To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. All investments contain risk and may lose value. Neither DNR Capital nor any company in the Perpetual Group (Perpetual Limited ABN 86 000 431 827 and its subsidiaries) guarantees the performance of any fund or the return of an investor’s capital. Neither DNR Capital nor Perpetual give any representation or warranty as to the reliability or accuracy of the information contained in this communication. Total returns shown for the DNR Capital Funds are calculated using exit prices after considering all of Perpetual’s ongoing fees and assuming reinvestment of distributions. No allowance has been made for taxation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
The Morningstar Analyst RatingTM is not a credit or risk rating. It is a subjective evaluation performed by Morningstar’s manager research group, which consists of various Morningstar, Inc. subsidiaries (“Manager Research Group”). In the United States, that subsidiary is Morningstar Research Services LLC, which is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Manager Research Group evaluates funds based on five key pillars, which are process, performance, people, parent, and price. The Manager Research Group uses this five pillar evaluation to determine how they believe funds are likely to perform relative to a bench-mark, or in the case of exchange-traded funds and index mutual funds, a relevant peer group, over the long term on a risk-adjusted basis. They consider quantitative and qualitative factors in their research, and the weight of each pillar may vary. The Analyst Rating scale is Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. A Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze reflects the Manager Research Group’s conviction in a fund’s prospects for outperformance. Analyst Ratings ultimately reflect the Manager Research Group’s overall assessment, are overseen by an Analyst Rating Committee, and are continuously monitored and reevaluated at least every 14 months. For more detailed information about Morningstar’s Analyst Rating, including its methodology, please go to global.morningstar.com/managerdisclosures/.
The Zenith Investment Partners (ABN 27 103 132 672, AFS Licence 226872) (“Zenith”) rating (assigned to the DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund 02/2024, referred to in this is limited to “General Advice” (s766B Corporations Act 2001) for Wholesale clients only. This advice has been prepared without taking into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any individual, including target markets of financial products, where applicable, and is subject to change at any time without prior notice. It is not a specific recommendation to purchase, sell or hold the relevant product(s). Investors should seek independent financial advice before making an investment decision and should consider the appropriateness of this advice in light of their own objectives, financial situation and needs. Investors should obtain a copy of and consider the PDS or offer document before making any decision and refer to the full Zenith Product Assessment available on the Zenith website. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Zenith usually charges the product issuer, fund manager or related party to conduct Product Assessments. Full details regarding Zenith’s methodology, ratings definitions and regulatory compliance are available on our Product Assessments and at Fund Research Regulatory Guidelines.
The rating published on 10/2024 for (APIR: PIM4357AU, DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund) is issued by Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN 11 151 658 561 AFSL 421 445 (Lonsec Research). Ratings are general advice only and have been prepared without taking account of investors’ objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider your personal circumstances, read the product disclosure statement and seek independent financial advice before investing. The rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any product. Past performance information is not indicative of future performance. Ratings are subject to change without notice and Lonsec Research assumes no obligation to update. Lonsec Research uses objective criteria and receives a fee from the Fund Manager. Visit lonsec.com.au for ratings information and to access the full report. © 2024 Lonsec. All rights reserved.