Merrill targets $50m from mezzanine funds
Merrill Lynch Mercury Asset Management hopes to attract $50 million per fund in the medium term for its “Professional Investor” suite of mezzanine priced funds.
Merrill Lynch Mercury Asset Management hopes to attract $50 million per fund in the medium term for its “Professional Investor” suite of mezzanine priced funds.
There are five funds in the suite — the managed income fund, the balanced fund, the imputation fund, the international bond fund and the international share fund.
Investors with more than $100,000 will have access to the funds, provided a mini-mum of $50,000 is invested in a fund at any given time. Once the investment is placed, the investor can change funds without incurring any costs (apart from pos-sible capital gains tax) or having to fill out another application form.
Merrill Lynch’s head of retail David Skelton says the funds will provide financial planners with “total flexibility” in remuneration, with advisers being able to choose between charging an entry fee of up to two per cent or offering their clients a re-bate.
He also says the “Professional Investor” funds were “born of a demand” by advis-ers to offer high net worth clients access to wholesale investment products at com-petitive prices.
“We don’t have a direct focus on who will be buying into these funds, but I think they’ll appeal to DIY investors generally and also DIY super investors,” Skelton says.
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