S&P puts brakes on UBS fund
Standard and Poor's (S&P) has placed UBS' Australian share fund on hold. The change in the fund's status comes in response to the group appointing Simon Shields as head of its portfolio management to replace the outgoing Paul Fiani. S&P Fund Services acknowledged Shields' previous experience as head of Australian Equities GPD Plus at Colonial First State, but said the departure of Fiani, who has been in the post since 2001, was significant enough to review the fund. The fund affected was the UBS Global Asset Management Australian Share Fund.
ING, ANZ to deliver ATM-linked pension
ING Australia and ANZ have a new super pension offering that includes an integrated cash management account (CMA). The new CMA addition will give ANZ banking customers aged over 60 the ability to access pension funds through the bank's branches, Internet banking and ATMs. As well as offering the tax-free ATM-linked super pension, following the introduction of new super rules on July 1, ING's pension product, OneAnswer, will offer the ANZ Prime Cash Management Account as an investment option. OneAnswer provides more than 70 investment options from ING and other fund managers.
Calliva given green light for SuperAccess
Boutique financial services group Calliva has received approval from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to go ahead with a new product, SuperAccess. The ATO has given the specialist fund manager the go-ahead for its new Superannuation Industry Supervision Act-compliant funding structure, which enables self-managed super funds (SMSF) to purchase commercial property. SuperAccess can fund up to 70 per cent of the value of the property with the balance coming from the SMSF.
Macquarie's new platform cuts out adviser
Macquarie Bank has launched a trading and loans platform that aims to cut through the need for a financial adviser. Macquarie Prime, an online account that combines shares, gearing, cash and contracts for difference (CFD), is targeted at high net worth investors and active traders. The bank, which spent millions of dollars on creating the product, was seeing a strong move away from advisers entering the market to self-directed investors. CFDs mirror the performance of a share or index without having the investor having to own them. The continued growth of self-directed retail investors with more money and time on their hands meant gearing to invest in shares was becoming more widely accepted.
Aurora launches first buy-write property trust
Aurora Funds Management has launched what it believes is Australia's first buy-write property income trust, which aims to offer retail investors a high dividend yield and low volatility. Aurora will seek up to $150 million through an initial public offering for the new listed investment trust, the Aurora Property Buy-Write Income Trust. The fund manager said the trust aimed to generate high semi-annual income through selling call options over a portfolio of 10 property securities listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Barclays Capital has been appointed to advise Aurora on the trust's investment strategy.
