Milford to launch 3 funds to meet adviser demand
Milford is to launch three funds following consultation with financial advisers on where they are seeing opportunities and demand.
The specialist investment firm said it will launch an Australian equity, a global equity, and a corporate bond fund this year.
This followed a consultation period with financial advisers last year to determine where Milford could meet gaps in the fund management market. The firm said it believes the selected funds are in areas where the firm can demonstrate capabilities and that will best suit the Australian market.
Its existing fund range in Australia includes Australian Absolute Growth, Dynamic Small Companies and Global Opportunities funds.
Kristine Brooks, chief country officer and executive director, said: “By engaging extensively with advisers and researchers, we gained a deeper and broader understanding of the market and identified the apex of where product was not meeting demand, including where there was significant investment need or opportunity."
Expanding on the decision to choose those asset classes, she told Money Management: “The specific investment areas were chosen due to Milford’s demonstrated capability in each asset class. Milford manages funds across all asset classes and risk profiles in NZ, and therefore has the opportunity across far-ranging capabilities within its investment team to pick what would most suit the Australian market.
“Milford then considered the opportunity, how crowded each segment was, where active management is critical and where Milford could demonstrate a competitive advantage due to our skill set.
“The funds that will launch are strategically complementary to our existing fund suite in Australia, and consultation with advisers and investment consultants validated their desire to see these funds available to their clients.”
However, the firm also confirmed it will dissolve two current offerings in the Diversified Income and Global Real Asset funds in order to provide more capacity to pursue the new strategies.
Equity Trustees, the responsible entity for Milford’s investment funds, previously announced the closure of the Milford Diversified Income Fund due to a small investment scale. Led by portfolio managers Paul Morris and Anthony Ip, the multi-asset fund aims to provide investors with a regular monthly income and moderate levels of capital growth by investing in a range of income-generating assets. This includes Australian and global shares, fixed interest, property and infrastructure.
Meanwhile the Global Real Asset Fund was launched in 2022 and invested in global listed infrastructure, utilities and real estate, with the aim to provide consistent income and capital growth.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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