Philip LaGreca

International equities have become more attractive to self-managed super fund (SMSF) trustees as historically low interest rates decrease the appeal of cash, according to the latest Multiport SMSF Investment Patterns Survey.

SMSF exposure to international equities increased by 1.6 per cent in the December quarter, driven by new funds flowing into the sector as well as the sector’s overall performance and decrease in the Australian dollar.

Cash has continued to decline to 19.1 per cent of total holdings, down from 24.5 only one year ago.

AMP SMSF Administration Head of Technical Services Philip LaGreca said low interest rates meant SMSF trustees were looking for new investment opportunities to provide good returns.

“The decrease in the cash sector during the quarter is the result of funds being moved into other sectors, specifically International Shares, which rose significantly in the quarter to 10.8 per cent,” Mr LaGreca said.

“Investment in Exchange Traded Funds in particular have grown exponentially in the international equities sector, and has more than doubled in 12 months to 1.6 per cent of total holdings,” Mr LaGreca said.

Asset allocation to Australian equities increased by just 0.1 per cent for the quarter, with the sector showing a decrease in the use of managed funds for the quarter, down 0.6 per cent.

Property holdings remained static over the quarter at 17.6 per cent, with direct property representing 14.1 per cent of the total sector allocation.

Out of the total number of direct properties held by the funds in the survey, commercial property represented 25 per cent of all property holdings and residential property accounted for 75 per cent of property holdings.

Average SMSF contributions for the December quarter increased from $9,417 for the September quarter to $10,829.

The Multiport SMSF Investment Patterns Survey covers just over 2000 funds, a sample of the SMSFs Multiport administers and the investments they held at 31 December 2013. Funds are administered on a daily basis which ensures data is based on actual investments and is completely up to date. The assets of the funds surveyed represent approximately $2 billion.

The post International equities up as cash down appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Trading under the ASX code “AAA”, and employing a very simple and secure structure, the BetaShares Australian High Interest Cash ETF holds Australian dollars in bank deposit accounts with one or more major banks in Australia.

The launch of the product represents the first in a range of cash and fixed income ETFs expected to be launched on the ASX in the coming weeks.

The ETF aims to generate a return that exceeds the 30 day Bank Bill Swap Rate (before fees and expenses) with the income distributions paid monthly. Based on the current interest rates from its bank deposit accounts, AAA expects to generate investment returns of approximately 5.20% p.a before fees.

For more information, refer to the fact sheet.

The post BetaShares launches first cash ETF on the ASX appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The US remains the largest and most mature market in the ETP industry, with asset growth of 5% in 2011. US ETP assets now total $1.061 trillion, representing 69.6% of global AUM. Product offerings grew by 26.7%, with 308 new products launched and 37 de-listed.

European assets ended the year down 5.3% from 2010. European assets now total $298.5bn, representing 19.6% of global AUM. Product offerings grew 13.3%, with 258 new products launched and 47 de-listed. European-listed ETPs offering exposure to German equities delivered strong asset gathering results in 2011, representing 97% ($17.3bn) of all flows into equity products listed in Europe during the year.

Asia Pacific (inc. Japan) assets grew by 8.3% in 2011, and now total $92.6bn. The region now represents 6.1% of global AUM. Product offerings grew 38.5%, with 123 new products launched and three de-listed.

BlackRock is a global leader in ETPs and publishes research on the industry through the ETP Landscape series of market commentaries.

The post ETP Landscape Industry Highlights, year end 2011 appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The ETF, which will trade under the ASX code “QCB”, aims to track the performance of the S&P GSCI Light Energy Index. The Index tracks the price performance of futures contracts on 24 major global commodities from a range of sectors comprising energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture and livestock.

The ETF is currency hedged, substantially eliminating the impact of movements in the AUD/USD exchange rate to provide a purer exposure to commodities.

Investors are increasingly seeking to obtain exposure to commodity price movements, and commodities are now accepted as one of the building blocks of a balanced porfolio by global investors. The ETF allows investors to gain broadly diversified commodities exposure without the need to invest in the futures market or take physical delivery of commodities.

In addition, investors should note that the ETF offers significant commodity exposure above and beyond the “bulk commodities” (e.g., iron ore and coal) that drive stocks such as BHP and Rio. Bulk commodities are not included in the index tracked by the ETF.

The post BetaShares launches Commodity Basket ETF appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The ETF, which will trade under the ASX code “QAG”, aims to track the performance of the S&P GSCI Agriculture Enhanced Select Index.

The Index provides exposure to 4 of the most significant agricultural commodities on a world production basis:

• Corn
• Wheat
• Soybeans
• Sugar

The ETF is currency hedged, substantially eliminating the impact of movements in the AUD/USD exchange rate to provide a purer  exposure to agricultural commodities.

The ETF allows investors to gain exposure to the performance of a basket of agricultural commodities without the need to invest in the futures market or take physical delivery of commodites. Prior to the introduction of this ETF, the only way for investors to gain access to the performance of agricultural commodities was via complicated instruments such as futures or CFDs, or indirectly via shares in agricultural companies.

BetaShares Agriculture ETF joins the existing BetaShares Commodities ETF series which currently includes BetaShares Gold Bullion ETF (ASX Code: QAU) and BetaShares Crude Oil Index ETF (ASX Code: OOO).

The post BetaShares launches Agricultural ETF appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The ETF, which will trade under the ASX code “OOO”, aims to track the performance of the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index.

The Index tracks the performance of West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) crude oil futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The ETF is currency hedged, substantially eliminating the impact of movements in the AUD/USD exchange rate to provide a purer oil exposure.

Prior to the introduction of this ETF, the only way for investors to gain access to the performance of oil was via complicated instruments such as futures or CFDs, or indirectly via shares in oil companies.

The launch of Australia’s first oil ETF is in line with the company’s goals of increasing product choice for Australian investors and delivering exposure to asset classes previously difficult to access.

The post BetaShares launches Australia’s first oil ETF appeared first on AdviserVoice.