Regal Funds Management’s Phil King backs miners, bearish on tech

Mining stocks like inflation and provide the best hedge in an equity portfolio, says Regal’s Phil King.

Sohn Hearts & Minds Investment Leaders Conference in Sydney. Left to right: Guy Fowler, UBS; Phil King, Regal Funds Management; Dr Anita Ayer, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute; Michael Traill, director, Paul Ramsay Foundation; Simon Freeman, CEO, Paul Ramsay Foundation. Picture: James Croucher

Phil King of Regal Funds Management has tipped ASX-listed nickel company Nickel Mines in the Sohn Hearts & Minds conference in Sydney today.

The company, which listed on the ASX last year, has nickel pig iron production operations in Indonesia.

Mr King said demand for its product would benefit from the growth of electric vehicles.

Mr King in October was inducted into the prestigious Australian Fund Manager Awards Hall of Fame.

The chief investment officer and chairman of Regal Funds Management has been at the vanguard of the growth of hedge funds and alternative investments in Australia over the past 15 years.

Sohn Hearts & Minds 2019 graphic

Now the nation’s biggest hedge fund with $2.4bn under management, Regal has generated exceptional returns for investors through a testing period including the global financial crisis.

READ MORE: Fund manager Jun Bei Liu backs Aussie firms with Chinese exposure

Mr King said at the conference on Friday that Nickel Mines traded at a huge discount when it listed last year, but had since shown that it could meet its production targets.

“We think a lot of the risks will disappear from the share price,” he said.

He said Regal thought the company’s share price would go up by two to three time over the next few years.

Mr King said he believed that mining would continue to play an important role in Australia in future.

“Mining stocks like inflation and provide the best hedge in an equity portfolio.”

He said mining stocks would benefit from an expected big increase in infrastructure spending over the next five to 10 years as the effectiveness of monetary policy reached its limits.

“There is a growing realisation in the world that quantitative easing is not working and that governments will need to do more fiscal stimulation.”

Mr King said he was bearish on some tech companies in Australia including WiseTech Global, Afterpay and Zero.