The Monash Absolute Investment Fund (MAIF), which was established in July 2012 by Simon Shields and analyst Shane Fitzgerald, will be made available to investors through the creation of a the Monash Absolute Investment Company.
MAIF, which invests in around 17 Australian companies taking long and short positions, has a track record of 15.9 per cent since its establishment.
According to a statement by Monash Investors, the Monash Absolute Investment Company will have a "similar, but not identical" portfolio to the MAIF.
"The [LIC] will implement the same investment strategy as MAIF which was launched in July 2012. The Company’s investment with two distinct objectives are firstly, to achieve a targeted positive return over a five to seven-year investment cycle, and the second to avoid a negative return each financial year," said the statement.
Mr Shields said the LIC was created due to demand from financial advisers and brokers.
"They were telling us that their retail clients were very interested in our Monash Absolute Investment Fund, which had proven itself able to deliver consistent positive returns with low volatility and capital preservation, regardless of market conditions," Mr Shields said.
"At the same time, their preferred structure was a direct investment rather than a managed fund, which made creating a LIC the logical next step. And in fact our view has been reinforced by the strong demand for this structure in recent capital raisings."
The LIC will have a minimum investment of $2,000, as opposed to the $20,000 minimum investment for MAIF.
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