News

Aviva Australia’s revolutionary new integrated Separately Managed Account (SMA) is set to change the way Australians invest in the local share market, providing a simple and transparent solution in the current economic conditions.

The SMA is the first available to superannuation investors while still meeting the needs of those investors seeking pensions, managing their own self-managed super funds and seeking to build wealth.

As the first SMA to be integrated into a platform, Aviva’s SMA offers an easy, low cost* way to invest directly in the Australian share market through the expertise of five leading fund managers.

“Investors today want to clearly understand how and where their funds are invested and how their money is working for them,” says Stuart Fechner, Aviva’s distribution development manager.

“Our research with investors and financial advisers has shown us that the key requirements are transparency, access, flexibility and simplicity.”     

Aviva sees SMAs as the investment structure of the future.

“The global financial crisis has only confirmed and strengthened our plans to develop this simple, straight-forward investment option,” he said

“Aviva’s SMA is perfect for today’s investor. Many people understand the markets and want to make sure their money works for them. They are interested in investments but are time poor. They want a way to invest which is transparent, flexible, tax efficient and low cost.  Aviva’s SMA delivers on all fronts.  

“The SMA makes it easy to invest in Australian shares without having to worry about the paperwork and monitoring normally required of investors. The SMA enables people to tap into the expertise of Australia’s leading fund managers.”

Aviva has chosen five professional fund managers – Ausbil Dexia Limited, Aviva Investors, Goldman Sachs JBWere Asset Management, Perennial Investment Partners and UBS Global Asset Management - to manage the models and provide broad options for investors.

“It was important to choose fund managers that investors and advisers know and trust,” Fechner said.

“Standard & Poor’s rating of our SMA model portfolios was the first time a research house rated SMA portfolios. All of the fund managers have the capacity and experience to monitor the markets and research current trends. Their processes will ensure the shares chosen remain consistent with the investment objective of the particular SMA model portfolios.”

Investors can choose from eight model portfolios to suit their objectives including a blue chip top 20 option.

Aviva’s SMA also offers tax and cost advantages.

“It is a tax effective option at a lower cost than managed funds and provides investors with complete transparency. Investors can see exactly which shares they are invested in without needing to worry about the paperwork. This is all handled through Aviva’s platform administration.

“With a managed fund an investor’s money is pooled with everyone else in the fund. This means you may inherit capital gains but with an SMA this doesn’t happen as you are treated as an individual and are the beneficial owner of the shares. It means it is more tax effective but with brokerage costs minimised as they are still spread across a number of investors.

“Importantly, Aviva’s SMA is transparent so it is clear to an investor which shares they own at any time and how much they are worth by logging on or checking their statement. It is perfect for someone who wants to invest in the share market but would like the guidance of a professional manager.”

Shares already owned, or bought later, and held outside the SMA, can be transferred (in specie) into the SMA where the share is also held in the model portfolio. This can help to reduce capital gains tax. 

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* compared to a comparable managed fund; transaction costs may vary.

For more information:
Sue Voglis
Research & Public Relations Manager
Phone: (03) 9829 8057