Permanent has launched a new fund, the Permanent Bond Fund which it has packaged with two existing funds in a suite called the Family of Funds.
The Permanent Bond Fund gives investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of fixed interest investments with a preference for short to medium term securities. Investments in this fund include government bonds, high quality corporate bonds and debentures, bank term deposits and other negotiable interest bearing securities.
The other funds are the Permanent Income Fund and the Permanent Australian equity fund. The first gives investors access to listed property trusts, other income oriented trusts, shares, convertible securities and fixed interest. It has achieved an annual return of 12.5 per cent for the past five years, and has $20 million under management.
The Family of Funds is the Permanent Australian Equity fund, which throws open the door to the Australian equity market, with a particular focus on shares and listed property trusts offering tax advantaged income and potential long-term capital growth. It has achieved an annual return of 15.97 per cent over the last five years, and has more than $110 million under administration.
Permanent general manager private clients Mark Veyret says the Family of Funds is a natural extension of the Permanent Cash Management Fund launched in 1995 which yields 4.79 per cent and is one of the highest yielding of its kind in the market.
“The Family of Funds is the result of an overall rebuilding and restructure of the Permanent funds management business,” he says.
“Last year we did a complete review of our funds management and decided to make it a separate business within Permanent. Our research showed there is a segment of the market that looks for this kind of manager, that is, conservative, balanced with growth giving consistent returns.”
Veyret says there is evident in this segment of the investor market a “flight to quality and cash”, which is partly a result of the current economic climate. Veyret expects there will be considerable interest in the Family of Funds suite because it satisfies the conservative performer criteria, but also will be attracted to the funds’ nil entry and exit fees.
