SMF hits billion dollar mark

SMF Funds Management has grown to more than $1 billion funds under manage-ment during the last financial year, with the company estimating a 50 per cent in-crease on this figure by June 2001.

SMF Funds Management has grown to more than $1 billion funds under manage-ment during the last financial year, with the company estimating a 50 per cent in-crease on this figure by June 2001.

SMF Funds Management managing director Christopher Kelaher says the success and high growth of the independent fund manager stems from a combination of natural growth of investors currently numbering 60,000; a shift of DIY and corpo-rate funds to master trusts; and the acquisition of York and United Funds Manage-ment.

“DIY funds will continue to move across to us because they can buy shares direct, get loyalty cards and reduce their hassles and costs via our master trust,” he says.

SMF offers 150 direct-share investments through its fund in addition to the usual selection of managed trusts. It also has nine loyalty-card equity investments on of-fer.

The lifting of the superannuation guarantee to eight per cent will also account for further company growth which Kelaher says will slot into the major development and success of its badged product service.

“We’ve got the size to attract investors but we are not so big that they feel they will be lost in our systems,” Kelaher says.

“When a corporation, large or small, shifts from in house superannuation to using our master trust, we provide a personal approach with each and every member of that fund where possible.”

It was only at the beginning of the year that Kelaher predicted that DIY superannu-ation funds would become a highly sought after sector, pitching SMF to win a slice of the DIY pie.