Ninety One offers global fund for wholesale investors
Ninety One has launched its $32 billion global equities Global Franchise Fund to wholesale investors in Australia.
The $246 billion fund manager, headquartered in South Africa and the UK, said this is its second offering to the wholesale market in Australia, which will enable it to access investors such as high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
Its Global Franchise Fund seeks to invest in a concentrated portfolio of high-quality businesses with exceptional characteristics, which enable them to compound free cash flows over long periods.
Managed by head of quality Clyde Rossouw, who has worked at the firm since 1999, the top 10 holdings in the fund include Visa, Microsoft and semiconductor company ASML.
Ninety One was founded in South Africa in 1991 and has had a presence in Australia since 2008. It offers funds across multiple asset classes including equity, fixed income, multi-asset, private debt and infrastructure.
Justin Cowper, head of institutional for Asia-Pacific and Middle East at Ninety One, said: “The market undervalues the ability of quality companies with enduring competitive advantages, disciplined capital allocation and a focus on sustainability to deliver persistently high or improving cash flows and returns on invested capital.
“Global Franchise seeks to invest in a concentrated portfolio of high-quality businesses with exceptional characteristics which enable them to compound free cash flows over long periods.
“The launch of Global Franchise to the Australian wholesale market will be beneficial to professional investors because we believe that an active quality approach, driven by proprietary fundamental analysis and engagement, is best placed to compound shareholder value over the long term, while reducing the risk of a permanent loss of capital.”
The first wholesale fund offered by Ninety One was the Emerging Market Equities Fund. The firm said it envisages making the fund more available to wholesale investors in the future.
Last week, Magellan Financial Group announced it has launched a global equities fund for Australian retail and wholesale investors, following its strategic partnership with active systematic equity manager Vinva.
The Vinva Global Equity Fund is a long-only systematic equity strategy and will sit alongside the Vinva Australian Equity Fund. It will be joined by the Vinva Australian Alpha Extension Fund, which will be a 130:30 long-short strategy, launching this November.
The strategic partnership with Vinva was announced in August at the firm’s FY24 results, with Magellan acquiring a 29.5 per cent stake in parent company Vinva Holdings.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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