Foord Global Equity Fund (Singapore)

Monthly Commentary – April 2020

• Global equity bourses (+10.7%) capped their best month since 1987 – unprecedented stimulus and flatter virus curves in the major economies bolstered hope for rebounding economic activity
   
• US markets (+13.1%) surged as the US Federal Reserve took further steps to avert economic collapse by providing $2.3 trillion to support households, businesses and local government – which includes $600 billion of credit support to small and mid-sized businesses
   
• Europe (+5.9%) underperformed due to its reliance on industrial activity as France’s economy contracted 5.8% month-on-month in the first quarter – its steepest decline since 1949 when records began
   
• Emerging markets (+9.2%) gained with their currencies and commodities despite more than 80 countries seeking IMF aid – Brazil (+5.4%) underperformed on poor COVID-19 management while India (+16.1%) outperformed as low oil prices improved the fiscal deficit
   
• Oil’s (+11.1%) volatility continued as May WTI contracts plunged into negative territory for the first time amid a lack of storage to take delivery – Saudi Arabia and Russia ended their oil-price war, agreeing to cut 10% of global supply for the next two months, nowhere near enough to offset the 25-30% collapse in near-term demand
   
• Fund outperformance expanded despite a high cash balance – Mesoblast (+157.7%) surged after its remestemcel-L treatment achieved meaningful results in treating a small sample of severe COVID-19 patients and progressed to comprehensive trials

The annual fee comprises a fixed standard fee plus a performance fee, subject to an overall minimum.

The annual fee may be adjusted up daily (subject to fulfilling the performance conditions) by the performance fee, calculated as the difference between the portfolio performance and the benchmark return for the same period multiplied by the performance fee sharing rate.

Initial fees: NONE
Annual fee: 0.85% + 15% of outperformance over the benchmark