Harbour Asset Management has launched a new wholesale global equities Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) fund in association with renowned Baltimore-based growth manager, T Rowe Price.
While T Rowe Price markets to larger institutions here directly, Andrew Bascand, Harbour managing director, said the deal would give smaller-scale New Zealand investors tax-effective access to one of the word’s “premium global growth managers”.
The T Rowe Price Global Equity Growth Fund, benchmarked against the MSCI All Country World Index, is a growth-oriented portfolio, typically holding about 130 stocks, of which roughly 15 per cent will be allocated to emerging markets.
Bascand said Harbour could now offer clients a broader investment solution on top of its Australasian equities and New Zealand fixed income products.
“Or investors may just want access to a tax-efficient global growth fund,” he said.
According to Bascand, while the New Zealand share market has been a global star performer over the last six years, local investors have increasingly recognised the need to diversify offshore.
“Investing in global equities using a passive index approach is one efficient way of getting diversification,” he said. “But we believe that investors will benefit from exposure to sectors biased to long-term secular growth trends.”
Bascand said Harbour began searching for a global shares option in 2012 before settling on T Rowe Price , which manages about US$750 billion, almost 18 months ago.
“We’re both growth managers,” he said.
As part of the agreement Harbour will have access to T Rowe Price global research.
Harbour has also hired Kendal Law as head of sales to provide marketing support for the new T Rowe Price fund. Prior to joining Harbour, Law performed a similar insitutional fund marketing role for Credit Suisse Securities in London and Hong Kong.
Bascand said Harbour has no current plans to expand into other asset classes.