Cooper revives Brunswick Fund to raise $100m after pandemic

Investment legend Peter Cooper is reopening his Brunswick Fund for the first time in two years with a $100m raising.

Cooper Investments founder Peter Cooper. Picture: Jane Dempster

Investment legend Peter Cooper is opening his firm’s flagship Brunswick Fund for the first time in two years in a $100m raising.

The $13.5bn Cooper Investors, whose institutional clients include the likes of Hostplus, REST, Legal Super, Catholic Super and State Super (NSW), is reopening the Brunswick Fund to take advantage of opportunities arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Cooper said Brunswick’s investment team, which he leads with portfolio manager Justin O’Brien, would be focused on a number of opportunities including “real asset” securities, the new economy, everyday needs, quality turnarounds, and beneficiaries of government intervention.

“Brunswick in Melbourne is where I was born and I carry fond memories of that place in the 60s as an immigrant battler in a somewhat rough suburb, not the trendy place it is today,’’ Mr Cooper told The Australian.

“It has relevance to the times we are in, where everyday needs and basic and simple things in life have come back into the zone of importance for most of the planet.

“It has been a gift as an investor to remember different times and places — it has made me a better investor for sure and particularly during the rough patches like now.”

The Brunswick Fund, which is also backed by high net worth families, charities and Individuals, has a 16-year history of outperformance delivering a 14.57 per cent return since inception versus the 6.92 per cent return for the ASX 200 index. Given its long-term focus, Brunswick will make fresh investments on the basis of a payback over as long as three years for some stocks because its managers believe the system stresses being experienced across the global economy will take a considerable time to heal.

The Brunswick Fund invests in Australian stocks and up to 25 per cent in international stocks, allocating capital across three pools.

They are what Cooper Investors has long called “compounders” (stalwarts and growth companies), “reversionary situations” (quality turnarounds, cyclicals, asset plays) and “real asset and income securities” (companies that will do well in times of inflation).

The firm expects more company/industry turnarounds and restructurings including spin-offs as result of the economic turmoil.

It also sees a future of more anti-globalisation and increasing localism and what it calls “anti-financialisation”, where boards and management teams will be asked to better balance the needs of all stakeholders (not simply focus on short-term bottom lines).

The move to reopen the Brunswick Fund comes after Cooper Investors, which has only had 200 stocks globally on its watchlist over almost two decades, raised more than $300m last year for the launch of a Family and Founder global investment fund.

It invests in founder-led, family-linked or employee-owned companies that deliver performance over the long term.

Each stock in the portfolio has insider ownership of at least 20 per cent and an average management tenure or family involvement of 40 years or more. Returns for the fund were up 3 per cent year to date to the end of February before the market slump and fell only 8.5 per cent in the March quarter compared to the 23 per cent decline in the ASX 200.