Aust Unity gets thumbs up
Australian Unity is building on a reputation as a niche funds manager after the group received a number of four star funds ratings from research house, Assirt.
The funds were Australian Unity’s Leaders Imputation Truts, Defined Income Trust, Mortgage Income Trust and Capital Guaranteed Mortgage Bond. The highest rating any of the funds had prior to the review by Assirt were three stars, according to Australian Unity group managing director Mark Sibree.
At the same time, Assirt also rated the fund manager’s capability in the Australian fixed interest sector as very strong and stated that Australian Unity’s flagship sector fund, the Defined Income Trust, had “long term performance [that] has been strong”.
“These rerated funds are investment grade across the board which is a good result for a niche manager without tied distribution,” Sibree says.
The upgrade comes on the back of similarly strong reviews from InvestorWeb and Property Investment Research, the former stating that Australian Unity was a “premier manager of property related assets”.
Sibree says the positive reviews from Assirt are also due to the group addressing a number of internal procedures. He says there has been an internal focus on property and mortgage assets combined with a manage-the-managers approach for equities and fixed interest assets.
Australian Unity funds management general manager Craig Dunstan says the group is building on its reputation as a manager of property and mortgage assets.
He says the group is working on concreting that image with more than $400 million in its property portfolio and in excess of $200 million under management in commercial and residential mortgages.
Dunstan says the group has set a target of becoming one of the 20 largest retail fund managers and was on track to achieve that goal.
“The last five years have seen the introduction of a unique investment approach, the consolidation of a range of investment products and strong endorsement from the investment community. Combined with a strong inflow of funds, we are confident of continuing current growth,” Dunstan says.
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