Trading Places: Chalice Gold Mines and Funtastic get $7m each from Regal

If you want to know where famous investor fund managers such as Regal Funds Management and Paradice Investment Management are putting their money, we’ve been keeping track of substantial holder buys (and sells).

Trading Places is Stockhead’s recap of the substantial holder movements among ASX small caps over the last fortnight.

Substantial shareholders are those holding 5 per cent or more of a company’s shares — these can be directors, individual investors, or institutional investors.

Shareholders are required to announce to the exchange when they cross above or below the 5 per cent threshold, as well as any change in their holdings while they remain above 5 per cent.

Buyers

One of the more well known fund managers is Sydney-based Regal Funds Management.

In recent days it has chipped $7m into both Chalice Gold Mines (ASX:CHN) and Funtastic (ASX:FUN).

Chalice has been one of 2020’s exploration success stories with its company-making Julimar nickel & PGE discovery in March this year.

Funtastic meanwhile was an ASX laggard for many months until a major ecommerce acquisition that sent shares rallying.

Regal also topped up its holdings in US tech listee Life360 (ASX:360) and now owns 11.37 per cent.

Perennial Value Management’s moves included becoming a substantial holder of food stock Maggie Beer Holdings(ASX:MBH) with a 6.67 per cent stake while increasing its holdings in portable X-ray maker Micro-X (ASX:MX1).

One of the ASX’s few PR firms WPP (ASX:WPP) welcomed Paradice Investment Management as a substantial holder with a 5.05 per cent last week.

But only a few days later its parent company in the UK, and its largest ASX shareholder, announced a takeover bid for the remaining shares.

L1 Capital became a substantial holder of the ASX gold success story and the newest Africa-focused miner West African Resources (ASX:WAF).

Ed tech ReadCloud (ASX:RCL) received an investment from US investment firm Kinderhook, which bought 8.46 per cent.

Australian Ethical, which typically appears in this column as a health sector investor, bought into money transfer service OFX (ASX:OFX).

Sellers

The most notable trade came from Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) founder Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

While Forrest is best known for Fortescue, the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world, it isn’t the only stock he has invested in.

One of his other shareholding is in WA nickel play Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) which has more than doubled in FY21.

Forrest, through his private investment company Tattarang, now owns 16.65 per cent. While he has net increased his position since the last substantial holder notice, he has sold nearly $2.5 million in the last month.

Meanwhile, Regal Funds Management made several trades. The most notable was a sale of its shares in serviced office provider Victory Offices (ASX:VOL) below the 5 per cent level.