The Dublin-domiciled First State Australian Growth Fund is managed by Naz Ressas, a member of the company’s Australian equities growth team, and will invest in a portfolio of between 25 and 50 stocks.
First State said the aim will be to provide investors with long term capital appreciation by investing in large cap stocks which, it said, will have healthy balance sheets, strong earnings and good prospects to outperform their peers over the medium-to-long term.
As well as investing in Australian-listed companies, the fund may also invest in companies that are incorporated or have the majority of their economic activity in Australia but are listed on regulated markets elsewhere in the world.
The fund, which is dollar-denominated, is available to retail investors through either income distributing or accumulation shares. Institutional investors are also able to access accumulation shares.
Gary Withers, regional managing director for EMEA at First State Investments, said: “Solid economic conditions in Australia are driving demand for an Australian equities based product in other markets around the world and our team, with its extensive experience in this area, is well-placed to deliver on this requirement.”
He added: “We believe it is the right time to enter the UK, European and Asian markets with this type of fund and we are expecting our new offshore fund to generate good interest from investors.”
