Fund managers shipped almost 50 portfolio investment entity (PIE) products to the NZ market over the last three years with about 60 per cent stamped as sustainable or the like, according to a MyFiduciary analysis.
Chris Douglas, MyFiduciary principal, told delegates at the Kernel adviser seminar earlier this month that 27 of the recent batch of 48 fresh-baked PIEs came in sustainability or environmental, social and governance (ESG) packaging.
“Sustainable funds are on the rise and here to stay,” Douglas said.
He said ESG factors and responsible investment were embedded in the MyFiduciary model portfolio process, for instance.
“The core global equity and fixed income exposures are all socially-responsible funds which also have a focus on reducing the portfolios carbon footprint,” Douglas said.
But the MyFiduciary models primarily centre around a core-satellite approach blending asset classes, styles, geographic exposures according to taste.
Fees are also important, he told the Kernel crowd.
“In our work with a range of investor sizes we are aware of what competitive fee levels are and have used our scale to secure fee discounts from many fund managers,” Douglas said.
“These flow through to the Synergy models. Discounts range from around 20% to over 60% relative to standard retail fees.”
The Synergy-MyFiduciary portfolios contain a broad mix of index and active managers – 15 in the growth strategy, for example, including Vanguard, Kernel, Milford and Castle Point.
Last month the group also unveiled a sample portfolio using managers offered in NZ by third-party marketing firm, Heathcote Investment Partners.
Douglas said the Heathcote models serve as a one-off guide rather than a fully implemented strategy, showcasing how to blend managers and asset classes to fit targeted risk-profiles.
However, he said the final exemplar portfolios also included some off-Heathcote managers – notably Kernel – to fill out the asset class exposures.
As at August last year, MyFiduciary reported about $1.5 billion managed in its range of model portfolios including some offered under the Consilium-distributed Synergy brand.
The group, which entered into a joint venture with the owner of Māori financial services group IWIinvestor at the time, also advises on a further $2 billion or so for consulting clients.