Firetrail’s Absolute Fund exceeds $73.5m



The initial public offering of Firetrail Absolute Return Limited (FTA) has exceeded its minimum target of $73.5 million, with the deal remaining now open for firm bids above $73.5 million.
The listed investment company (LIC), which aimed to provide investors with access to an ‘alternative’ source of investment returns, uncorrelated to Australian and global share markets, is managed by Firetrail Investments Pty Limited, an affiliated fund manager of Pinnacle Investment Management.
The IPO intended to raise up $304.5 million by issuing 145,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares at an application price of $2.10 per share with the ability to receive oversubscriptions up to $378 million.
The product capacity was constrained to $1 billion which included the FTA raise and the unlisted fund, the firm said.
The offer is expected to close on 19 October 2018.
FTA said it would employ the same investment strategy as the Firetrail Absolute Return Fund.
Prior to establishing Firetrail earlier this year, co-portfolio managers Patrick Hodgens and James Miller ran the Macquarie Pure Alpha Fund, a similar market-neutral investment strategy.
“The strong early demand for the strategy illustrates an increasing move by investors towards alternative investment products,” chair of Firetrail Absolute Return Limited Deirdre Wroth said.
Recommended for you
Betashares is to merge its managed account business with InvestSense to form a purpose-built option for financial advisers, forecasting a positive outlook for future industry growth.
With fund managers using ETFs as a way to reach the adviser market with a diversified product range, Betashares has shared how many ETFs were listed and closed during the first half of 2025.
Platinum Asset Management’s head of investment, Douglas Isles, has departed the fund manager after 12 years as the firm reshapes the business amid a merger with L1 Capital.
Investment consultancy Ascalon Capital has looked to research houses for hires, appointing one each from Zenith and Lonsec while Zenith has made an internal promotion.