The fund provides investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of Australian cash and short-term money market securities, mostly with three months or less to maturity.
It also seeks to generate a yield above the Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index with distributions paid monthly, Betashares said.
Investors can access ready liquidity through the fund and gain enhanced yields on their cash, while also maintaining capital stability without needing to lock up their money long-term.
The Betashares Australian Cash Plus Fund sits alongside the fund manager’s Australian High Interest Cash exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has risen to approximately $3.5 billion in funds under management (FUM) since its launch in March 2012.
Alex Vynokur, Betashares chief executive, said the expansion of its cash and fixed income range is well-suited for investors hoping to make their cash work harder within their portfolio.
“Investors and their financial advisers will be able to use [the fund] to gain access to a compelling solution for the cash allocation of their investment portfolios. The fund provides access to high-quality securities with enhanced yields that are generally only available to institutional investors,” he explained.
According to Betashares, the fund launch comes at a “particularly relevant time for enhanced cash solutions globally” as investors seek the advantages of rising interest rates while other asset classes see volatility.
The 2023 Stockspot ETF Report released in October also described cash ETFs as one of the largest growing segments of the Australian ETF market.
According to the report, Australian investors have driven more than $1.6 billion of net inflows towards these products over the past year, with cash ETFs collectively managing over $4 billion in FUM.
“We’ve found that investors are choosing these products for their great returns and because they simply don’t have the same hassle and conditions of a high-interest bank account,” explained Chris Brycki, Stockspot founder and chief executive.
“In our 10 years of researching the more than 250 ETFs on the ASX and Cboe Australia, this is the first time cash ETFs have received so much interest from investors and they are proving to be cash cows.”
Click here to read Money Management’s cash ETFs feature.
