Three things that got the team talking this week - Firetrail Investments

Weekly insights from the Trail

Three things that got the team talking this week

September 23, 2022September 30th, 2022

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1. Working class man…

This week our High Conviction Fund analyst, Alex Collen, went to Port Kembla in Wollongong to see Portfolio Holding Bluescope’s steel mill. The mill produces about 3 million tonnes of steel a year and is the largest of the company’s global operations. He got to see the steel-making process from start to finish, from iron ore, all the way to finished products such as Colorbond. The key takeaway was that steel demand in Australia remains strong in core construction markets, with exciting new opportunities in new markets such as renewable energy.

Did you know the first blast furnace was built at Port Kembla in 1928? The top picture below shows the outside of a modern-day blast furnace. If the setting looks familiar, that may be as it was used as the location for Jimmy Barnes film clip for Working Class Man. You can refresh your memory here!

Outside of the blast furnace, where iron ore is turned into liquid iron

Alex Collen and the basic oxygen furnace, where liquid iron is turned into steel

2. Rent watch…

It’s a good time to be a landlord, not a tenant. SQM data shows capital city asking rents have risen nearly 25% since the start of 2021. And over 20% in just the past 12 months. This follows a rise of only 11% between August 2009 to December 2020.

Source: IFM Economics

3. Back to the real world…

The US has returned from their summer holidays. And more Americans have decided to return to the office. Last week, occupancy rose more than four points to 47.5%, the highest level since before the pandemic, according to Kastle. All cities tracked saw significant increases last week, with New York City experiencing the biggest jump, rising 8.7 percentage points to 46.6% occupancy. Despite that, Austin, Texas still surpassed New York City with office occupancy reaching 60.5%.

Source: Kastle

Disclaimer

This article is prepared by Firetrail Investments Pty Limited (‘Firetrail’) (ABN 98 622 377 913, AFSL 516821) as the investment manager of the Firetrail Australian High Conviction Fund (ARSN 624 136 045), the Firetrail Absolute Return Fund (ARSN 624 135 879), the Firetrail Australian Small Companies Fund (ARSN 638 792 113) and the Firetrail S3 Global Opportunities Fund (ARSN 653 717 625) (‘the Funds’). Pinnacle Fund Services Limited ('PFSL') (ABN 29 082 494 362, AFSL 238371) is the product issuer of the Fund. PFSL is not licensed to provide financial product advice. PFSL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pinnacle Investment Management Group Limited (‘Pinnacle’) (ABN 22 100 325 184). The Product Disclosure Statement (‘PDS’) and Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) of the relevant Fund are available via the links below. Any potential investor should consider the PDS and TMD before deciding whether to acquire, or continue to hold units in, the Fund.

Links to the Product Disclosure Statement: WHT3810AU, WHT5134AU, WHT3093AU, WHT7794AU

Links to the Target Market Determination: WHT3810AU, WHT5134AU, WHT3093AU, WHT7794AU

For historic TMD’s please contact Pinnacle client service Phone 1300 010 311 or Email service@pinnacleinvestment.com

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