Aust Unity gears up for property
Australian Unity had added to its portfolio of property funds with the launch of a geared property income fund.
The new fund will invest in the property fund manager’s ungeared Property Income Fund, but with a target gearing rate of 45 per cent.
Australian Unity investments general manager David Bryant said the new fund aims to provide investors with long-term capital growth plus quarterly income.
“The underlying fund is a true-to-label, hybrid fund and its combination of direct property (60 per cent), listed property (35 per cent) and cash (5 per cent) investments means it offers diversification and liquidity,” he said.
The Property Income Fund, which was opened to retail investors in February, has already attracted inflows of $42 million and has achieved a 12 month-return of 16.5 per cent.
Bryant said the income fund is suitable for a range of investors, including those with self-managed superannuation funds and those seeking an income and long-term capital growth component from their portfolio.
“Our Geared Property Income Fund, because of its leveraged characteristics, might help improve the performance of such portfolios,” he said.
Australian Unity, which has a total of $2.7 billion of funds under management, manages a $650 million direct property portfolio.
Recommended for you
Natixis Investment Managers has hired a distribution director to specifically focus on the firm’s work with research firms and consultants.
The use of total portfolio approaches by asset allocators is putting pressure on fund managers with outperformance being “no longer sufficient” when it comes to fund development.
With evergreen funds being used by financial advisers for their liquidity benefits, Harbourvest is forecasting they are set to grow by around 20 per cent a year to surpass US$1 trillion by 2029.
Total monthly ETF inflows declined by 28 per cent from highs in November with Vanguard’s $21bn Australian Shares ETF faring worst in outflows.
