Portfolio review
The Northward Equity Income Fund (NEIF) gained 0.92% for the month of January. Option Income for the month was mainly captured from BHP Billiton, Incitec Pivot, Telstra, Resmed and QBE Insurance. The Fund’s average market exposure during January was 43% and continues to be less than half the market exposure of the ASX100 Accumulation Index.
The S&P/ASX 100 Accumulation Index closed up 3.4% for the month of January, more than regaining the early losses in mid-January due to plunging commodity prices which saw the index down 2.0% at one point. Expectations around an interest rate cut helped propel yield stocks and saw a strong rebound from these lows. Positive contributors to the Fund over the month included Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, National Australian Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation while Woodside Petroleum, Origin Energy, Amcor and QBE Insurance were the biggest detractors.
