Aberdeen Prv Share Discussion Threads

[skyship] 25/4/2017 07:33

RAM - thnx for that - missed yesterday's Trades announcements.

Big question is why no RNS for the other 10m buyer; also interesting to see yesterday's 4.7m trade at 117p. Deck chairs certainly being shuffled!

A merger with SLPE seems rather intuitive. APEF is certainly too small at a MCap of just £128m. If BTEM are of similar mind, then a £11.5m trade isn't a bad idea; and a 1.2% commitment not too small, especially as they may be looking to buy more.

I sold 2/3rds of my holding recently (cash went into ICGT) - may well need to re-consider and look for a cheap offer. I'll see what their NAV performance was for March.

[rambutan2] 25/4/2017 02:26

Trades from last week now showing. BTEM paid 114.75p for its 10m. Must say i'm a bit baffled as to why they've bought in. The discount, at approx 20%, isn't particlarly big. The fund is sub size for a fofs. Its costs are too high. It's not a good performer. And i'm fairly sure it's not got any hidden value.

The only angle i can think of is something coming out of the Aberdeen merger with Standard Life ie merge this into SLPE, which is a bigger, better trust. And I also note that there is now an annual (in Sept) continuation vote. However, with nearly £1bn of assets, why is BTEM bothering with a £15m position which has limited upside and is far from risk free.

[rambutan2] 21/4/2017 15:24

19% stake sold by Hants CC. BTEM have picked up 10%. Good.

[skyship] 01/4/2017 17:58

hmm...pretty poor performance in February:

As at the close of business on 28 Feb 2017, the Net Asset Value of Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited was as follows:-


Share class Net Asset Net Asset Performance
Value Value
28th February 31st January
2017 2017
------------- ---------------- --------------- ------------
GBP Shares 147.31 pence 149.95 pence (1.76%)
------------- ---------------- --------------- ------------

[skyship] 15/3/2017 14:01

Philip Hebson (Director) buys 3000 shares a 120.0833p - pretty small beer, but a sensible move presumably!

[rcturner2] 15/3/2017 07:16

Thanks Skyship. This is ideally a long term investment for me, so I am not so worried about short term movements.

[skyship] 14/3/2017 18:07

Breakout s/b by the end of March:


free stock charts from uk.advfn.com

[skyship] 14/3/2017 17:57

RCT - Welcome Aboard.....hopefully your entry will be the trigger for this to break through the 120p ceiling and move on to the next level,,,

[rcturner2] 14/3/2017 14:53

I have bought into this today.

[skyship] 15/1/2017 16:53

That may be the NAV now, halfway through January. Likely to be nearer 150p at the end December declaration, unless we've had some portfolio gains.

[eeza] 14/1/2017 22:43

HL have the est NAV at 152.35p & MorningStar est 153.08p.

[skyship] 10/1/2017 17:14

Looks like the start of the next leg up:


free stock charts from uk.advfn.com

[skyship] 23/12/2016 11:02

A predictably disappointing NAV return for November, though at -2.6% more than I would have expected. US$ declined just 2.2% in the month.

Still, at 111p the discount of 25.4% and the 3.6% yield makes APEF standout value in a still strengthening sector. I'll be posting the sector comparisons on the PE thread later today...

[skyship] 15/12/2016 09:05

Added a few this AM as Sp slightly lower. On offer for 112.3p, so the discount up to 26.5%. This is a relevant extract from the Interim statement of 9th Dec’16:
===============================================================================

Discount

As at 30 September 2016 the share price discount to NAV stood at 29.0%. Since the period end the NAV has increased to 152.8p per Share (based upon 31 October 2016 figures and the discount has narrowed to 27.4%, based on the Share price as at that date.

Discounts (to NAV) have prevailed for most listed private equity funds in the years following the onset of the global financial crisis in 2007. In my recent Full Year review I made the point that NAV growth for the sector had been strong and this sector had avoided many of the cyclical industries which otherwise might have given some justification for continuing discounts. This argument remains as valid now as it did then, particularly as our rolling five year NAV total returns continue to improve (currently 9.4% per annum).

In the period following the Half Year end, there has been high-profile corporate activity in the sector , which combined with the marked weakness in Sterling vs. the US Dollar has seen NAVs rise (for Sterling priced, US asset biased Companies) and also share prices rally.

It remains to be seen whether a general sector re-rating can be achieved, but your Board believes that the extent of this Company's current discount is unjustified. We believe that the value in the sector is becoming more widely recognised and we will continue to engage with the Manager on reducing the discount level.

[spob] 27/10/2016 08:10

Thanks for reply Skyship.

Although sitting on a large cash ratio, i'm holding off buying all but the most obvious bargains at the mo.

I have an aversion to buying when the markets have risen. I'm most comfortable buying after a market panic when the tide has gone out for all stocks.

I am therefore hoping for a Trump victory come November 9 :)

[skyship] 26/10/2016 10:56

Hi spob - no, no particular target, though interesting to note that at the current NAV the discount falls to just over 20% at 115p. Still, I expect that NAV to improve further if the $ holds its strength.

I have a problem with portfolio concentration. Difficult to find other things to buy outside the PE sector, so slightly regret taking profits in HVPE & ICGT recently...I would like to get the latter back!

[spob] 26/10/2016 10:05

Do you have a target price in mind Skyship ?

If the discount narrowed to under 20% (not far away now) would you be looking to pull out ?

[skyship] 24/10/2016 17:40

An interesting and detailed research article in the 22nd Oct. Economist magazine – a Briefing on Private Equity which reveals the importance and size of the PE sector. In 1980 there were just 24 PE firms; there are now 6628, of which 620 were founded in 2015!

One of the many statistics is the uninvested dry powder figure looking for a home - $1.3trn – ungeared. Small wonder that the option of buying up the few listed players is now on the table; though after PEQ & SVI the opportunities are extremely limited. Altamir (40% discount) might be a good play; but personally I wouldn’t now want to buy a Euro-listed trust at the current exchange rate…

Based upon practical MCap stats (not too small) & accessibility (precludes HVPE & NBPE which are effectively controlled by their Managers), the possible candidates to follow PEQ & SVI might be:

EPIC……….Sp…̷0;….NAV…....Discount
ICGT…….658……R30;.798……;…..17.5% (NAV at July)
HGT……1430… ….1580………….9.5% (NAV at Sept.)
JPEL…… .110….……143…R30;……23.1% (NAV at Aug.)
PEY……..830……R30;…999……….16.9% (NAV at Aug.)
PIN…….1640……R30;1956……;….16.2% (NAV at Aug.)
SEP……230;276……;…..339……….18.6% (NAV at Sept.)

I traded out of ICGT @ 660p just recently, so mentally not willing to buy back in there just yet. So Best Bet IMO has to be JPEL. A difficult one for me as I already have a very profitable 10% allocation! Still, very tempted to buy more… An excellent buy for those not already in there.

Best Buy elsewhere – ie beyond the above plays and beyond the rather specialist 30%+ discount plays (LMS, MVI & OCL) – has to be APEF. At 107p they are on a 25.0% discount to an August NAV of 142.74p. They have a young portfolio. They also provide a yield of 3.74%.

[skyship] 14/9/2016 07:09

Yes - really great news. A dividend of a MINIMUM 4p, so a yield now at 104p of 3.9% and a discount of c28%.
===================

At the Annual General Meeting held today, 13 September, the Board of Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited announced the following:

-- Going forward, in the absence of unforeseen circumstances, the Company expects to pay minimum total dividends of 4p per share per annum (2016 - 2.2p), commencing with 2 dividends of 2p per share relating to the financial year to 31 March 2017

-- An annual continuation resolution to be put to each AGM, commencing with the AGM in 2017

-- A substantially reduced, and simplified, management fee*

The Board also noted that the good NAV performance referred to in the Report and Accounts, had continued since the year end, with a further rise of 7.5% in NAV per share to 29 July 2016 (143.32p per share). The Board continues to remain optimistic on the investment portfolio's ability to deliver long term investment performance, and believes that, when combined with the increased focus on co-investments, the changes announced above should enhance the appeal of the Company to all Shareholders, both current and prospective.

[strathroyal] 13/9/2016 20:58

Looks like they have had to increase the dividend to prevent some level of rebellion re the continuation vote. Also agreed to reduce fees, balance is still in favour of the investment manager but perhaps time to invest in view of the substantial discount.

[skyship] 06/9/2016 08:02

Sure, plenty of PE cash looking for a home. APEF using the pretty standard and usless verbage for Continuation. They should be doing a lot more to provide and release shareholder value; something along the lines of a 3.5% of NAV annual distribution as a minimum - as NBPE introduced 3yrs ago.

[atholl91] 05/9/2016 18:22

I meant the Private Equity Industry ( secondary buyouts)

[skyship] 05/9/2016 17:06

"Plenty of money in PEQ looking to buy" !

Don't quite understand that last bit. PEQ, as I'm sure you know, is the object of a takeover to put it out of its misery...

[atholl91] 05/9/2016 12:38

Voting against continuation but likely to fail as fees more important to managers. Absolute nonsense that voting for would reduce sale prices. Business's are worth what they fetch. Plenty of money in PEQ looking to buy.

[skyship] 03/9/2016 15:06

I voted against Continuation.