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What started off as a rough second half has ended on a positive note for embattled investment fund Blue Sky.
The group's Alternatives Access Fund (ASX: BAF) saw an increase in net tangible assets (NTA) per share for June 2018.
The Alternatives Fund reported a pre-tax NTA increase to $1.14 per share in June; a gain of 0.7 per cent.
Whilst slight, this increase can only be seen as a good thing for Blue Sky, which has been suffering over the past few months.
The company attributes the slight increase to a 3 per cent positive return for the Blue Sky Water Fund for the month.
The company's latest report completes its independent review of the carrying value of all funds within the Alternatives Fund's portfolio other than the Cove Property Group 441 Ninth Avenue Trust and investments which are exiting or contracted for sale.
Blue Sky reports that The Alternatives Fund finished FY18 with a total post tax NTA of $235.3 million, including a cash position of $31.6 million.
The investments firm has suffered from a string of bad news following the release of a controversial report from a US short seller in March.
The Glaucus Research report claimed Blue Sky "wildly exaggerated" its fee earning assets under management (FEAUM) and that its share price was worth just $2.56.
When the report was released BLA shares were trading at around the $11.50 mark, off an all-time high of $14.99, and since then they have slumped to $1.50.
In mid-June the company exited a trading halt which saw Blue Sky shares spiral.
Blue Sky's foreshadowed $60 million hit to annual net profits is expected to stem from its exit from a number of property managements rights businesses and regional real estate development projects.
The group says it will continue to focus on private equity, private real estate and real assets, but will exit from a number of key business areas.
Following the review, Blue Sky still has $3.4 billion of fee-earning assets under management and expects to save $3.8 million through cost reduction initiatives.
The company forecasts net cash at 30 June to be $32.3 million.
The fallout from the Glaucus report led to two board purges and the resignations of managing director Robert Shand, followed by chairman John Kain, along with board members Elaine Stead and Nicholas Dignam.
Veteran board member Michael Gordon resigned for health reasons.
Shares in Blue Sky are up 5.36 per cent to $1.48 per share at 10.10am AEST.
Shares in The Access Fund are up 4.64 per cent to $0.79 per share at 10.11am AEST.
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Business News Australia
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