Manager Comment November 2018 – Listed Private Equity Fund

In November, the Listed Private Equity developed positively. The US Business Development Companies (BDCs) in particular made a positive contribution to the monthly performance and benefited from their floating-interest rate debt investments. The alternative asset manager Ares Management achieved the highest increase in value during the reporting period and convinced its investors with the publication of the quarterly report. The company increased its fee-paying assets by 9.6% to USD 79.4 billion compared to the same period last year and has further growth potential with USD 21.7 billion in non-fee-paying assets. In addition, the Company successfully completed the transformation of its legal form from a limited partnership to a C-Corporation. This allows a broader investor base, such as certain index funds, to invest in the shares of Ares Management. On the other hand, Brookfield Business Partners (Brookfield) recorded a negative performance in November. The company was not able to fully met investors’ high expectations for the quarterly result, although operating profit in the first nine months increased by 164% year-on-year. Brookfield also completed the USD 2.15 billion sale of Quadrant Energy and announced to acquire along with institutional investors the Johnson Controls global automotive battery business for USD 13.2 billion. Another highlight was the performance of Intermediate Capital Group. The British alternative asset manager convinced its investors with the positive performance of the underlying portfolio companies and a significant increase in assets under management of 17.7% over the last six months.