Merrill takes bullish stance with global equity

Two new global equity funds have hit the market today with the introduction of Merrill Lynch Investment Manager’s (MLIM) Global Titans Fund and Global Small Cap Fund, the first in a range of MLIM funds set to launch over the next few years.

MLIM managing director and chief investment officer Maurice O'Shannassy says the two funds recognise the rise in the number of Australians investing internationally by providing access to both large and small cap companies in the global sharemarket.

The Global Titans Fund concentrates on between 60 to 80 market leader global products and is actively managed according to managing director of global equities Charles Prideaux. The fund portfolio includes a range of big name stocks such as Microsoft, Intel, Pfizer, Nokia and Sony.

The impact on performance from the value of the fluctuating Australian dollar has also been accounted, and both funds offer a hedged or unhedged version, or can be a combination of both.

"Global equity and currency exposure can have benefits, but Merrill Lynch has provided an option, the investor can buy a hedged or unhedged version," O'Shannassy says.

The Global Small Cap Fund is focused on under-researched and under-invested global companies that have long-term growth potential. The fund invests in 120 to 140 international stocks from the bottom 20 per cent of the market, with a market capitalisation of between A$2-4 billion.

Fund manager on the European Specialist Team Lawrence Kymisis says the small cap fund will search for tomorrow's next big companies with its research team of about 20 spread across London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo.

"The fund has a bottom up stock picking structure, and aims to find the next big companies very early on before the rest of the market knows what they're about," he says.

The Global Small Caps fund has a suggested minimum three year horizon, and is not a stand alone product, Kymisis explains.

"The small caps fund fits as a complementary product to the Global Titans fund. You wouldn't want more than 30 per cent invested in the small caps [in global equity exposure] and then have some in the Titans fund to bring down overall risk," he says.