Macquarie Equitieshas rolled out a capital protected international investment fund offering access to investment strategies designed for wholesale investors but with a minimum investment of $5000.
The fund, known as Equinox, will make use of three specialist international traders and one diversified fund of hedge funds with the currency exposure of the underlying portfolio hedged to the Australian dollar.
Macquarie will offer investors in the fund rising capital protection and possible cash dividends and capital growth with the capital protection initially set at 100 per cent, which may rise as profit lock-ins are declared.
Local investors will also be eligible for an investment loan for up to 50 per cent of their total investment which will not impose interest repayments, rather interest will be capitalised quaterly and added to the loan balance. The interest rate will be offered as either a floating or fixed rate with the bank stating the rates will be around 8.50 per cent fixed and 7.91 per cent floating.
The three specialist traders – Transtrend B.V. (Netherlands), Highland Capital Management (Australia) and Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG (Austria) will make up 60 per cent of the portfolio with the diversified fund of hedge funds, offered through GAM Diversity Incorporated making up the other 40 per cent.
Macquarie Bank associate director Jonathan Hall says the retail fund offers access to returns and a portfolio which which normally require millions of dollars to access directly and is lowly correlated to traditional asset classes
“The investment has been designed to provide retail investors with the security of capital protection, the cash flow of dividend payments and the added bonus of profit lock-ins. The optional investment loan gives investors additional flexibility in tailoring their exposure,” Hall says.
