Skandia adds 13 funds to retail platform

Skandia is to add 13 new investment funds to its retail platform and also update the long-term asset allocations of the platform’s multi-manager fund options.

The 13 new funds, which will become available on July 31, will bring the total number of funds available on Skandia’s platform to 110.

Five of the new funds are multi-manager funds while the remainder are described as discrete options, each managed by a single fund manager.

Investors will also have access to some multi-manager funds traditionally only available to institutional clients, including the multi-manager high conviction Skandia Australian Shares High Alpha Trust option.

Skandia general manager—retail Mark Papendieck said the changes reflect the latest research on fund managers and portfolio construction by Skandia’s new investment and consulting division, Intech.

“The acquisition of Intech at the end of 2006 has provided a significant boost to Skandia’s in-house investment capability and the options we can offer our retail investors.”

He said the asset allocation changes to the Skandia Global Access Portfolios (SGAPs) are designed to “deliver consistent returns with less risk for investors by taking a more innovative approach to long-term asset allocation”.

“We’ve adjusted the long-term asset allocations to incorporate a greater focus on alternative investments and other asset classes such as international property and reduce the heavy dependence on equities and bonds.

“We’ve also identified the need for a strategic inflation hedge over the medium to long term, and we intend to provide this by introducing an exposure to global inflation linked bonds.”