Colonial First State adds Epoch fund to FirstChoice platform as investors and SMSF trustees search for sustainable yield
The Grant Samuel Epoch Global Equity Shareholder Yield Fund has been added as an investment option on the Colonial First State FirstChoice platform, as investors continue to search for sustainable sources of yield from their investments.
The fund is managed by the New York-based equity manager, Epoch Investment Partners, and is unique in the Australian market place as it offers a globally diversified equity portfolio of listed global companies with a history of attractive dividend yields and positive growth in free cash flow.
Mr Damien McIntyre, director and head of distribution with Grant Samuel Funds Management, says: “The Grant Samuel Epoch Global Shareholder Yield Fund aims to generate superior risk-adjusted returns with a dividend yield that exceeds the dividend yield of the MSCI Word (ex Australia) Index.
“Companies in the portfolio are run by management that focus on creating value for shareholders through consistent and rational capital allocation policies, with an emphasis of cash dividends, share buy-backs and debt reduction – the key components of shareholder yield.
“To date the fund has offered lower volatility than most equity products and distributed higher levels of income. This has proven to be of great interest to self managed super fund investors with about 20 per cent of funds’ net cash flows to date coming from SMSF investors,” Mr McIntyre says.
The addition of the fund to the FirstChoice platform follows the announcement earlier this year that the fund had surpassed the $1 billion market in retail assets under management, and had more than doubled its size over 12 months.
Launched to institutional investors in October 2007 and to retail investors in May 2008, during the GFC, Grant Samuel Funds Management has also raised over $1.5 billion in institutional money for Epoch Investment Partners in Australia.
The Grant Samuel Epoch Global Equity Shareholder Yield Fund is also on the platforms of all the major banks and life insurers. It has an A rating from van Eyk Research, and a “Recommended” rating from Lonsec and Zenith.
