Tetragon Financial Group - FY23 growth driven by idiosyncratic factors

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) posted a 6.4% net asset value (NAV) per share total return (TR) in US dollar terms in FY23. Tetragon’s returns normally have a low correlation with broader markets, and therefore its FY23 performance was below the 26.3% return of the S&P 500 Index, which rallied on the artificial intelligence (AI) theme. Tetragon’s FY23 return on equity (RoE) of 5.5% was below its target of 10–15% pa. That said, its performance since listing was within the target range at 11.3

Tetragon Financial Group - Leveraging up for new investments

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) reported a 1.7% ROE in H123 and its NAV increased by 1.7% in total return terms. The portfolio gained 3.0% on the back of TFG Asset Management (which remains Tetragon’s largest asset, representing 50% of its NAV), private equity assets and its direct listed equity investments, while the remaining asset classes had a limited impact on NAV. Tetragon targets returns uncorrelated with broader equity markets and a 10–15% ROE (9.9% on average over the last five fina

Tetragon Financial Group - Navigating challenging times

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) published its annual results on 3 March, posting a 1.0% net asset value (NAV) per share total return (TR) in US dollar terms in FY22. In last year's adverse environment, Tetragon outperformed public equity markets (the MSCI AC World index was down 18%), despite results being below its annual target (ROE of 10–15%). It is continuing distributions to shareholders through NAV-accretive share buybacks (US$72m in 2022) as well as cash dividends (US$24m in 2022), wi

Tetragon Financial Group - Comfortable liquidity situation

Tetragon Financial Group’s (Tetragon’s) NAV declined 1.0% in Q322 and 4.5% in 9M22 in total return terms (compared to declines of 6.5% and 26.4% in the MSCI ACWI, respectively). The best performing asset classes in Q322 were TFG Asset Management (driven by BentallGreenOak’s revaluation) and private equity (especially funds managed by Hawke’s Point). Meanwhile, the other equities and credit asset class (consisting predominantly of listed equity) remains a negative contributor. Tetragon continues

Tetragon Financial Group - More resilient than public equities in H122

Tetragon Financial Group’s (Tetragon’s) NAV declined 3.5% in H122 in total return terms, compared to a 20% fall in the MSCI ACWI Index (based on Refinitiv). The portfolio revaluation contributed 4.1pp to the decline, which was mostly due to a Q122 loss on Tetragon’s direct exposure to a publicly quoted biotech company and the downward revaluation of Equitix on the back of public multiples contraction. The best-performing assets in the portfolio were collateralised loan obligations (CLOs, which a

A game of two halves

In the first article of our series examining the AIC Flexible Investment sector, we divided this widely disparate group of trusts into what we think are more comparable sub-groups, identifying four roughly similar types of strategy.

Tetragon Financial Group - Offering a diverse exposure to alternative assets

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) focuses on alternative asset classes offering excess risk-adjusted returns (ie ‘intrinsic alpha’). This includes private equity holdings in alternative asset managers, investments in funds, as well as balance sheet investments in alternative assets. Tetragon posted a 14.1% NAV total return in FY21 in US dollar terms and so far saw only an 0.6% NAV decline in 2022 until end-April. It continues to make distributions to shareholders through NAV-accretive share bu

Tetragon Financial Group - Performance remains subdued year to date

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) reported a 2.6% NAV total return (TR) year to date (ytd) to end-October 2021 in US$ terms. All asset classes except for quoted assets showed positive gross returns, with TFG Asset Management (TFG AM, 37% of portfolio) and bank loans delivering 15.1% and 15.5% returns, respectively. However, this performance was largely offset by ongoing charges and fees (including incentive fees) and share dilution, mostly from share-based compensation. Tetragon is fully inves

Tetragon Financial Group - Muted performance in H121

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) reported an H121 NAV total return (TR) of 0% in US dollar terms. Gains on investments in asset managers, bank loans and hedge funds were offset by losses on its listed equities portfolio and private equity (PE). TFG Asset Management (TFG AM) has continued to increase its assets under management (AUM) to US$32.8bn (up 9% in H121) by attracting capital to existing strategies and setting up new managers (eg Contingency Capital active in financing law firms and le

Tetragon Financial Group - TFG Asset Management grows in AUM and value

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) reported a 9.5% NAV TR in FY20 in US dollar terms. Its main value driver remains TFG Asset Management, which delivered a 24% return in FY20 as it continues to expand its assets under management (AUM, up by 10% in FY20 mainly assisted by Equitix). In contrast, Tetragon’s CLO and real estate investments were a drag on FY20 performance. Moreover, Polygon funds (the majority of Tetragon’s exposure to hedge funds) delivered positive returns, but below broader equit

This time next year Rodney...

I once sat through a three-hour performance of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal which, despite the best efforts of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart – both of whom I like very much – to this day remains one of the dreariest experiences of my life. It is on that note that we welcome 2021, with all the promise it holds, and return to our ‘top picks’ for 2020, a year which is probably best summarised (for those of us lucky enough to have been not directly impacted by the virus

Tetragon Financial Group - Diversification limiting NAV decline

Tetragon Financial Group (Tetragon) reported a 1.0% decrease in NAV in 9M20 in total return terms. NAV has so far proved resilient to market volatility, while Tetragon’s shares followed the market sell-off in Q120 and lagged the following market recovery. This resulted in a historically high discount of 61%. Tetragon maintained its quarterly DPS of US$0.10 after reducing it in Q120 (implying a 4.3% annualised yield). In the current economic environment, Tetragon intends to increase its exposure

Eating their cooking

This year’s turn of events has divided businesses like never before. For some companies COVID-19 has been a life-threatening situation. But for others it has cemented their position in their industry, and brought forward several year’s of anticipated growth. The investment management industry is one of the few industries which has seen relatively little impact – good or bad. Indeed most financial services businesses were well set up for staff to work remotely, with little change to the efficienc

A game of four quarters

“What a difference a quarter makes”, as Dinah Washington’s accountant used to sing. When last we updated on our investment trust picks for 2020 at the end of March, it is fair to say that collective optimism was thin on the ground. However, we all retained ultimate conviction in our selections (or else had grown so despairing at the market environment that we had settled into a kind of other-worldly fatalism), keeping faith that our initial logic had been ultimately sound. This has proved a good

Tetragon Financial Group - Overview

Tetragon Financial Group (TFG) aims to generate returns on equity of between 10% and 15% per year across cycles. The company has net assets of $2.2bn, and is traded on the specialist-fund segment of the LSE (primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam) with both a US-dollar and an unhedgedsterling share class. TFG invests in a diversified set of alternative assets, including bank loans, real estate, convertible bonds and event-driven equities via hedge funds. As at 30 April 2020 around 43% was investe

LIBERUM: Plus500: Strategic progress pays dividends

Tatton Asset Management (TAM LN) - Record net inflows

Tatton, the leading on-platform discretionary fund manager (DFM) and IFA support services Group has released a trading update ahead of its results to 31 March 2024, due on 18 June 2024.

Hardman & Co Insight: 2023 was an annus horribilis for Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no

Ondo InsurTech FY24 Trading Update

Ondo InsurTech has released a brief post-YE update revealing its good progress continued through 2H24 and consequently FY24 will be in line with market expectations.

BlackRock World Mining

BRWM’s managers: we see all the classic signs of high commodity prices...

Foxtons Group (FOXT LN) - 1Q24 IMS shows real momentum

Foxtons Group plc first quarter revenue rose 9% to £35.7m (1Q23: £32.9m) with growth delivered across all business segments. Trading is in line with management's expectations.

Morning Note – 18 April 2024

NextEnergy Solar Fund - Attractive Refinancing

The refinancing of a £135m revolving credit facility and the extension of a similar £70m facility gives NESF firepower as development opportunities for new solar are especially attractive thanks to lower module prices in Europe. They give the fund key financial flexibility at a critical time as it pursues its capital recycling programme.

Foxtons Group - FY24 underpinned by market share gains

Foxtons Group’s Q1 revenue grew by 9%, supported by growth in all three divisions as the strategic initiatives continue to gain significant momentum, driven by investment in staff, best-in-class bespoke IT and data platforms. This implies that Foxtons’ medium-term targets are now coming into focus. Market share is being gained in all divisions, which puts Foxtons in a good position as the sales market stabilises. We maintain our valuation of 132p/share and believe that if interest rates stabilis

NextEnergy Solar Fund – High- and growing-income opportunity?

NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) is almost 10 years old. Since launch, it has built a £1.2bn, 933MW portfolio of 100 operating solar assets, powering the equivalent of over 330,000 homes, declared dividends totalling £333m, and avoided the emission of about 2.2 Mt CO2e. NESF is on track to pay 8.35p in dividends, with forecast dividend cover of about 1.3x. Share price weakness that has afflicted the whole sector means that dividend translates to a yield of 11.1%, one of the highest in its sector, a

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 19 February 2024

M Winkworth+ (WINK, House Stock at 163p) - Solid FY23A results, well placed to grow

Hybridan Research: Sector Review: Artificial intelligence in UK cybersecurity: the human uplift 17/04/2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a double-edged sword in cybersecurity. Whilst new AI models, architectures, and innovations are emerging to protect the security posture of organisations, attackers are also benefiting from deepfakes, sophisticated phishing, and automation of malicious codes. To ensure the impact of AI on cybersecurity to be a net-positive, we need to pit good AI against bad AI. Point solutions enhanced with machine learning: Global cybersecurity has been built with point soluti

Resilient FY24, confident long-term outlook

Vp’s full year update highlights sector-leading results, once again benefiting from the diversity of its end markets and the quality of its specialist businesses. With results expected to be broadly in line with expectations, we trim our FY24 PBT forecast by c.5% to £39.0m, a shade below the FY23 outturn (£40.2m). We consider this an impressively resilient performance set against a mixed market backdrop. Under new leadership, a strategic refresh is underway and management is confident in long