Dear investor

The March 2024 quarter saw a return after fees of +6.2% for Third Link Growth Fund. During the same period, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index (which measures the largest 300 shares listed on the Australian stock market) increased 5.4%. This has been a very good quarter for investors and shows the importance of patient investing in the face of ongoing volatility.

Third Link Growth Fund achieved a return after fees for the twelve months to 31 March 2024 of +14.8%, which was very satisfactory. The Fund’s long-term annual compound return is 10.4% pa after fees, ahead of the +9.7% pa movement in the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. This is a very credible result for investors over a long period of time, placing it ahead of many other Australian equity funds.

In the quarter ended 31 March 2024, the Third Link Growth Fund fully redeemed out of its investment in the Ophir High Conviction Fund and topped up its investments in the Eiger Small Companies Fund and the Pengana Emerging Companies Fund. The Ophir High Conviction Fund was originally an unlisted fund that we invested in but later converted to a listed investment company. This structure was less suited to the long-term needs of Third Link Growth Fund so we thought it prudent to sell out of this investment and reallocate the proceeds to other funds that we were keen to increase our exposure to.

The Fund size at 31 March 2024 was $183m. All fees received from managing Third Link Growth Fund, net of fund expenses, continue to be donated to the charitable sector. Donations to the charities we support totalled $334k during the last quarter, with donations now over $20.9m since inception.

In this quarter's newsletter, we feature an article on the National Centre for Childhood Grief (NCCG), one of the eight charities currently supported by Third Link. You'll learn about how NCCG supported Finn and his siblings through one of the most traumatic times in their lives: tragically losing their father.

Lastly, a reminder to investors that the Fund is open to new or additional investments. Every additional dollar in the Fund allows us to give more money to charity.

Thank you for continuing to make a difference in the community through your investment.

Regards,
Chris Cuffe AO, Founding Director and Portfolio Manager
Third Link Investment Managers Pty Limited

Portfolio update

The objective of Third Link Growth Fund (“the Fund”) is to provide a well-managed investment in Australian listed shares. To achieve this, the Fund extensively invests with professional third party investment managers.

As at the end of March 2024, the portfolio was invested as below:

The Fund redeemed fully out of its investment in the Ophir High Conviction Fund during the quarter and topped up its investments in the Eiger Small Companies Fund and the Pengana Emerging Companies Fund.

A description of each of the fund managers we invest with can be found on our website. Each of these managers rebates their management fees and performance fees, effectively meaning they are managing the assets of the Fund for free. It is through this extraordinary generosity, together with that of other service providers, that Third Link is able to make sizeable donations to the charitable sector without diluting the returns to investors from the Fund.

Fund performance

The aim of the Fund is to outperform, after fees and over rolling five year periods, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index¹. As at the end of March 2024 the Fund performance relative to the Fund benchmark was as below:

Figures greater than one year are expressed as annual compound returns. No allowance is made for tax. The benefits of franking credits from dividends received have not been included.

¹ The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index covers the largest 300 shares listed on the Australian market. Being an accumulation index, it measures changes in both the value and income of the shares.

² The Fund was registered on 12 March 2008, commenced operations on 18 April 2008, and commenced investing on 1 June 2008 as a multi-sector growth fund. In February 2012 the Fund's investment strategy changed from multi-sector growth to Australian equities.  

Supporting bereaved children to navigate tragedy

When Finn Harrison was six years old, his dad Andy died.

Andy was on a soccer field when he suddenly dropped to the ground with a massive heart attack. One day, Finn’s dad was there, larger than life. The next, he wasn’t. He was gone.

The pain of close family bereavement is one of the most deeply traumatic experiences for children. One in 20 Australian children will experience the death of a parent while they are still a child, and many more a sibling or close loved one. This grief can have significant, life-long impacts on a child and adult’s mental and physical health, education, and family security, particularly if not addressed early with specialist care.

Since 1994, the National Centre for Childhood Grief (NCCG) has provided free specialist care to bereaved Australian children aged 3 -17 years following the death of their parent, sibling or close loved one.

The NCCG was opened in 1994 by volunteer bereavement counsellors who saw that bereaved children were commonly missing out on specialist care and decided to set up a charity to provide free services for children. The centre has grown to support over 430 children and their families annually across Australia.

Despite our deeper current community awareness of child and youth mental health, childhood bereavement is still commonly misunderstood, misdiagnosed and mismanaged. The NCCG exists to provide the specialist care bereaved children need, help fill a significant gap in preventative mental health care and educate the community on the experience and needs of bereaved children.

The NCCG’s care services are focused on helping a bereaved child understand their grief and build their sense of security, resilience and coping skills, empowered to live their own best life.

The NCCG is a rare Australian service that provides a broad, holistic suite of free care services: individual counselling, group programs, adventure camps, parent support, community outreach, and fee-for-service training for professionals and community organisations caring for bereaved children. Demand for all services is very strong – the NCCG cares for three times more clients than it did just five years ago.

The NCCG is investing in a three-year grant from Third Link to build the charity’s long-term fundraising capacity and ensure it can continue meeting the ever-growing community demand for its care.

Finn Harrison is now 20 years old, a university student and theatre professional. He sees how such close family bereavement never leaves you. But with the proper support, he has learned that it’s something you learn to live with, not something that defines how you live.

Finn wrote:

“I know I am the person I am today because of the help of [the team at] the NCCG. The counsellors and volunteers helped my whole family work through the extreme heartache and pain we felt after the death of our dad. We all grieved differently. Even within our little family, all our stories have been written differently. 

As a kid, when someone dies, you feel very alone. Everything is bottled up because it’s too hard and painful to process. The specialised grief counsellors truly understood, and they helped my family start to feel that we could cope. These amazing people provided the space where talking could begin. The more we talked, the more we would remember and eventually feel like we could survive our loss.”

To find out more about the National Centre for Childhood Grief or discuss any aspect of how the NCCG and Third Link are working together to support bereaved children, contact NCCG Head of Development Chris Waugh on 0401 900 371 or chris@childhoodgrief.org.au.

Important Information: ­This information has been issued by Third Link Investment Managers Pty Ltd (Third Link), ABN 31 128 965 702, AFSL 321611 as investment manager of the Third Link Growth Fund (Fund).  This information provided is general information only.  It does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice or an offer or solicitation to subscribe for units in the Fund. This information has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the information or deciding whether to acquire or hold a product, you should consider the appropriateness of the information based on your own objectives, financial situation or needs or consult a professional adviser. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its targeted rate of return and no guarantee against loss resulting from an investment in the Fund. All investments carry risks. Past fund performance is not indicative of future performance. Fundhost Ltd ABN 69 092 517 087, AFSL No. 233045 is the Responsible Entity for the Fund. Applications can only be made on the application form dated 30 June 2022 accompanying the Fund Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) dated 30 June 2022. Potential investors should consider the PDS and the Additional Information to the PDS (AIB) before deciding whether to invest, or continue to invest in the Fund. The PDS and AIB can be obtained from www.thirdlink.com.au or by contacting Third Link. The TMD can be found at fundhost.com.au/fund/the-third-link-growth-fund/

The privacy of your personal information is important to us. View our privacy policy.