Zenith’s report states that Greg Matthews, portfolio manager of the All Star IAM Australian Share Fund, “is well supported by a team of senior portfolio managers who also maintain analyst responsibilities. In Zenith’s view, the investment team is highly experienced and their long history of successfully working together gives us further confidence in their abilities.”

The Fund has, according to Zenith, “displayed the ability to consistently outperform the index in all market conditions… consistent with its style agnostic approach and philosophy to navigate through market changes” noting that: “This has resulted in an information ratio well above the target and the median manager, indicating the generation of superior risk adjusted returns. We are confident that the process will continue to generate strong performance in the future.”

All Star Funds was conceived to provide investor access to consistent, high alpha asset management capabilities which would otherwise not be available to the retail investor.

“When we select an investment manager, we look for consistent out-performance, irrespective of market cycle,” said Mulligan,

“Greg (Matthews) and his team have a long-standing track record as a top performing Australian share manager; some of his team have worked together for over 15 years.”

The All Star IAM Australian Share Fund has delivered approximately 3.6% above benchmark after fees on an annualised basis since inception (data to end May 2011) and is ranked number one over 5 and 7 years against peers (1). The rating follows a pleasing, top ten ranking debut in the Plan for Life net inflows survey for All Star for the March quarter(2). Mulligan believes that this reflects the high quality of investment managers in the All Star stable, as well as the support of financial planners who need to be confident in recommending investment products to their clients which will deliver to their investment needs.

The All Star Maple-Brown Abbott Listed Property Fund and All Star Nomura China Fund have also recently been given ratings of “Recommended” by Zenith.

1. Morningstar May 2011 survey, Australian shares sector specialist funds.
2. Plan For Life March 2011 survey table retail net flows – marketer’s & administrator’s view, ex CMTs.
x

The post All Star IAM Australian Share Fund achieves Recommended rating by Zenith appeared first on AdviserVoice.

• The Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX code: VHY):  Seeks to match the return (income and capital appreciation) of the FTSE ASFA Australia High Dividend Yield Index (before fund fees and expenses). The FTSE ASFA Australia High Dividend Yield Index generally comprises approximately 60 securities listed on the ASX with higher forecast dividend yield relative to other companies listed on the ASX. VHY has a fee of 0.25 per cent p.a.

• The Vanguard MSCI Australian Large Companies Index ETF (ASX code: VLC):  Seeks to match the MSCI Australian Shares Large Cap Index (before fund fees and expenses). The MSCI Australian Shares Large Cap Index targets coverage of around 70 per cent of free float-adjusted market capitalisation of the Australian share market. VLC has a fee of 0.20 per cent p.a.

• The Vanguard MSCI Australian Small Companies Index ETF (ASX code: VSO): Seeks to match the MSCI Australian Shares Small Cap Index (before fund fees and expenses). The MSCI Australian Shares Small Cap Index is a small capitalisation index generally consisting of the smaller companies on the Australian equity market targeting coverage of around 14 per cent of free float-adjusted market capitalisation of the Australian share market. VSO has a fee of 0.30 per cent p.a.
  x

• The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) has been reduced from 0.27 to 0.15 per cent p.a.; and,
• The Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index ETF (VAP) has been reduced from 0.34 to 0.25 per cent p.a.
  x

The post Three new Vanguard ETFs quoted on the ASX appeared first on AdviserVoice.

David Harrison, Managing Director of Charter Hall, said the positive retail investor sentiment to commercial property shown in the survey was very encouraging, and called for investors to follow the lead of savvy institutional investors who are taking advantage of emerging opportunities in the listed sector (where REITs are trading at a discount to NTA) and also in the unlisted (direct) property sector.

The Charter Hall survey found 60% of those intending to invest in the next 12 months planned to invest sizable sums of more than $50,000. The survey showed 36% of respondents favoured listed property, another 11.71% favoured unlisted (direct) property while 6.35% favoured residential property.

“We believe the commercial property market has reached the bottom of the cycle post GFC and for investors considering their re-entry to this sector, now is the time to do it to take advantage of property values we expect will continue to rise.

“Charter Hall is hearing reports from our agencies that institutional investors such as superannuation funds, high net worth individuals and syndicators are in the market looking for homes for mandates up to and in some cases in excess of $1 billion as confidence returns,” Mr Harrison said.

Overall, investors surveyed had a conservative allocation to commercial property with 47% of those holding a less than 10% allocation in their portfolios. Respondents also showed a strong preference for office space, with one third of investors preferring this sector.

Mr Harrison said the strong preference for office space suggested retail investors may be overlooking opportunities available in the retail and industrial sectors which are also expected to perform strongly owing to attractive characteristics such as lower volatility and higher prospective returns.

“Institutional investors are returning to the market on the strength of excellent buying opportunities, in a climate of reduced competition and rising tenant demand in the industrial space. Retail investors should
take the lead set by institutional investors as a reference point for their own portfolio allocations,” Mr Harrison said.

The CEO of Charter Hall Direct Property, Richard Stacker echoed Mr Harrison’s comments saying successful capital raisings by Charter Hall this year confirmed investors’ return to the market.

“Since January this year, Charter Hall Direct Property has raised more than $110 million in capital for the since closed Macquarie Martin Place Trust; the open Stirling Street Trust; and the Charter Hall Direct Industrial Fund. The success of these raisings is confirmation of increasing investor appetite and our ability to offer retail investors access to institutional grade property at the right point in the cycle,” Mr
Stacker said.

The survey found that investors’ primary motivation for investing in real estate was regular income with 43% citing this as their number one driver. Mr Stacker said retail investor demand for income was a key
consideration in the development of Charter Hall Direct Property’s Direct Industrial Fund (DIF) launched in July this year.

“We developed DIF in response to demand from advisers, investors and in particular SMSFs, looking for simple products that deliver steady income over the long term.

“The survey results show the fundamental characteristics of unlisted property, which include reliable income and capital preservation on a long term basis, continue to be attractive to retail investors and
SMSFs,” said Mr Stacker.

Reflecting the defensive investment strategies taken by many investors during the downturn, investors also revealed significant holdings in cash and term deposits with nearly one third of respondents holding more than $200 000 in these assets. However, investors also signalled their rising confidence with 74% of those surveyed believing the Australian sharemarket would rise in the medium term.

The post More than 50% of investors intend returning to commercial property investment, says Charter Hall survey appeared first on AdviserVoice.