Russell Investments NZ is set to launch a global listed property fund next month, seeded with $50 million.
Built for local investors as a portfolio investment entity (PIE), the Russell Global Listed Real Estate Fund features US specialist firm Cohen & Steers and Deutsche Bank asset management subsidiary, DWS, as underlying managers along with an in-house allocation.
The multi-manager fund also taps into the Russell ‘enhanced portfolio implementation’ process – also known as portfolio emulation – for further operational efficiencies.
In a note to investors, Russell NZ head, Matthew Arnold, says while commercial property “has been out of favour” for several reasons including higher interest rates, the work-from-home trend and wider economic fears, the tide was turning.
“… with signs that interest rates have now peaked, combined with low valuations and the shifting make-up of the asset class, there are plenty of reasons for optimism,” Arnold says in the note.
Adrianna Giesey, US-based Russell portfolio manager, will be in NZ next week to discuss the group’s real estate strategy and role of listed property with investors. Giesey is scheduled to appear in Wellington on December 7 with investors able to register for the event here.
Russell NZ also saw the scheduled retirement last week of long-time client relationship manager, Fiona Lintott, who will leave the firm in the new year.
Apart from a short stint with ANZ private bank from 2009 to 2011, Lintott had been with Russell since 1996 in several senior roles.
She is currently head of investor services for the NZ group.
Her departure, slated for early 2024, follows the exit of another Russell client relationship veteran, Maria Flaherty, in May. After joining FundRock NZ as product development manager, Flaherty was promoted to head of relationship management this month.
Meanwhile, ASB has stepped up the risk ladder with the launch of a new aggressive investment strategy to be distributed in dual-priced KiwiSaver and retail versions.
The ASB aggressive option, which has a 95 per cent allocation to growth assets, comes with a 0.75 per cent annual management fee in KiwiSaver and 1.18 per cent in retail format.
Research house Morningstar classifies 14 KiwiSaver funds as aggressive (and a further six ‘replicated’ strategies), holding almost $9 billion in aggregate: fees in the category range from 0.25 per cent for the Kernel fund to 1.41 per cent for the InvestNow Generate Focused Growth fund.
AMP, which like ASB uses BlackRock for most investment management duties, charges 0.79 per cent for its aggressive option.
While not quite in the Morningstar aggressive zone, Simplicity also dialled-up the risk earlier this year after rolling out a high-growth fund – split 80/20 between growth and income assets – priced at 0.29 per cent.
The researcher counts the $2.4 billion Kiwi Wealth growth fund (now part of Fisher Funds) as the largest in its aggressive bunch followed by the almost $2.2 billion Generate and just over $1 billion in the Milford strategy, which launched in 2019.
BlackRock manages most of the ASB scheme growth assets via index-tracking vehicles, bar the Australasian equities portfolio run by State Street Global Advisors in passive style.
Adam Boyd, ASB personal banking executive general manager, said in a statement that there is “proven demand for more aggressive investment options”.
“… our new Aggressive Funds could be suitable for those customers with a long investment timeframe who are comfortable accepting more risk with larger ups and downs in their balance along the way,” Boyd said.
As at the end of September, ASB reported just over $14.8 billion in its KiwiSaver scheme, slipping for the first time behind the Fisher-Kiwi Wealth combo, which held more than $14.9 billion on the same date.