Colonial signs retail deal with PM Capital

Colonial First Statehas signed an exclusive agreement withPM Capitalto launch the first PM long-only equity fund available to the retail market.

The Colonial First State PM Capital Australian Share Fund will be available in April, via Colonial's FirstChoice platform with plans for it to be included on other platforms in the second half of the year.

PM Capital associate director Miles Webster, as portfolio manager, will manage the fund in line with the group's existing long-only Australian equity investment strategy.

“We are delighted PM Capital will become part of our boutique offering in the Colonial First State product range and expect it will be well received in the market," Colonial First State’s chief executive officer John Pearce says.

Pearce believes the combination of PM’s funds management capabilities and Colonial’s business infrastructure will be an attractive proposition to investors and their advisers.

“Colonial First State’s distribution, marketing strength and reputation makes it a very desirable alliance partner,” PM Capital chairman Paul Moore says.

The offering will have both a base fee and a performance fee, with the former set at 1.6 per cent, while the latter will be calculated monthly and equates to 25 per cent of gross returns (excluding the value of imputation credits) above theS&P/ASX200 and the base fee.

Colonial will be the responsible entity for the fund along with conducting all back-office processing operations.