Australia’s first ETF hits the market
Separately managed account platform provider Direct Portfolio Services (DPS) has announced the launch of Australia’s first international exchange traded fund (ETF) mandate.
The mandate was opened within days of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) launching iShare’s ETFs.
DPS head of operations David Henderson said the company created a portfolio of ASX-listed ETFs to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the newly available product.
“We expect to see significant flows into our ETF mandate away from traditional managed funds,” Henderson said.
“Investors will see the benefits of lower MERs [management expense ratios], improved liquidity, reduced manager risk and the tax benefits of SMAs [separately managed accounts]. Clients also like the real-time prices, rather than delayed unit trust prices.
“We’ve already seen inflows into the ETF mandate from our existing clients,” he said.
“Investors typically come to us looking for an alternative to managed funds but, until now, we were unable to provide international equity exposure.”
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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