Aviva today announced the appointment of five investment managers who will collectively be offering eight new models within the separately managed accounts (SMA) that is expected to be launched on Aviva’s platform in September 2009.
Aviva today announced the appointment of five investment managers who will collectively be offering eight new models within the separately managed accounts (SMA) that is expected to be launched on Aviva’s platform in September 2009. The managers are detailed in the enclosed "Separately managed accounts" flyer.
Stuart Fechner, Aviva’s distribution development manager, investment products says: "We’ve done extensive research. The five managers are well recognised with strong brands that have proven investment capabilities in Australian equities. Importantly they are well supported and are subsequently receiving good inflows into existing portfolios. We wanted to achieve an optimum range of categories to suit the majority of investor needs while providing flexibility for advisers to construct appropriate portfolios.
"An important factor in the selection process was the level of comfort investment managers had with managing SMA models alongside their traditional unit trust business. Based on our industry research of fund managers, it is anticipated that SMAs will account for around 10% of the Australian equities investment market by 2015."
During development of SMAs on our platform, Aviva held adviser forums so that the products delivered would have the greatest potential to meet adviser and investor needs. For example, to ensure there is a model that provides access to mainstream large capitalised companies, Aviva has included "The Blue Chip Top 20" index model portfolio. With big names in the Australian equities market, that most investors will recognise, there is likely to be a greater level of comfort and therefore acceptance as an alternative to direct shares and conventional unit trusts. At the other end of the spectrum, Value / Income models have been included to provide for retired or nearing retirement investors who have a need for income.
Commenting for Ausbil Dexia, Mark Knight (associate director, retail) says: "Aviva are a highly valued client and we wanted to support their endeavour to integrate an SMA solution within a traditional platform menu. As far as we can tell, this will be a first in the Australia market so we are eager to participate." (Refer to enclosed "investment manager quotes" for all comments.)
Mr Fechner said: "We believe the potential for SMAs in Australia is huge. The road block to date is that SMAs have not been available as an integrated option into platforms, nor have they been available for superannuation. As the ground swell of knowledge around the advantages of SMAs grows, more financial advisers will recognise the great advantages SMAs provide, particularly for SMSFs and as an alternative to direct share investment."
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Ariana Alvarenga
Public Relations
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Sue Voglis
Research & Public Relations Manager
Phone: (03) 9829 8057
Mobile: 0408 309 247
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