Paradice Investment Management has announced the launch of its first retail fund, the Paradice Global Small Mid Cap Fund.
The fund, a first for Australian retail investors, will initially be offered through Westpac's advice and IFA channels, according to Paradice.
The fund will also be available through the BT and Asgard Wrap platforms, Paradice stated. Equity Trustees Limited (EQT) has been appointed as responsible entity of the fund.
"We've been asked by retail investors to have products in the market to give them access to the performance we've delivered institutionally for the last 13 years," said David Paradice, managing director and founder of Paradice Investment Management.
"Being approached by BT Financial Group, the wealth business of Westpac, to put a retail version of our global product together for its financial planning and platform businesses allows us to be targeted and institutional-like in our approach, without compromising our performance focus."
Mr Paradice also said working with EQT has made the company's initial venture into retail "much easier".
The Paradice Global Small Mid Cap Fund only holds between 40 and 80 companies at any time, and cannot hold more than 15 per cent of the capital of a single company.
In addition, the strategy currently has $430 million in funds under management from institutional investors and an expected capacity of $2 billion, according to Paradice.
