Schroders, the London-based international asset management firm, has announced the launch of an international fund for South African investors seeking a flexible multi-asset portfolio.
Tim Carr, multi-asset fund and product manager at Schroders, said the International Selection Fund (ISF) Global Managed Growth fund offers South Africa-based clients "geographical diversification."
Carr explained: "Given South Africa's low-growth economic environment, this fund seeks to deliver long-term capital growth over five to seven years by investing in a diversified global portfolio of equities, fixed income and alternative assets."
Given South Africa’s low-growth economic environment, this fund seeks to deliver long-term capital growth over five to seven years by investing in a diversified global portfolio of equities, fixed income and alternative assets."
"This means South African investors will benefit from geographical diversification and a smoother return path driven by a dynamic asset allocation - an approach that focuses on actively managing the portfolio through these unprecedented covid-19 times, with the ability to change, sometimes drastically, how the fund is positioned depending on current market movements."
The ISF Global Managed Growth fund has the freedom to invest wherever the most attractive risk-adjusted opportunities are to be found, states Carr. "Every asset class therefore has to earn its position in the portfolio by either enhancing return or reducing risk. The strategy has a growth bias and we would expect it to perform well in an environment which is strong for growth assets as a whole."
While the risk profile is relatively high, given this growth-seeking objective, Carr says that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) approval is definitely a source of comfort for investors.
"The FSCA looks at, amongst other things, the investment policy of the fund, the entity managing the fund and the regulatory environment of the jurisdiction in which the foreign collective investment scheme is registered to assess whether the fund should be approved."
Kondi Nkosi, South Africa country head at Schroders, added: "Flexibility is the critical success factor of the fund's strategy and we can demonstrate our superior resources to be able to effectively implement this dynamic approach and deliver international returns for our local clients."
Carr added, "Schroders have been managing multi-asset mandates since 1947 using a qualitative and quantitative research-led process, proprietary portfolio construction and risk management systems. As one of the few global managers operating in South Africa, we are thrilled to be able to continue delivering leading offshore strategies to the local market during these uncertain times."
The company said it now has 12 funds approved by South Africa's regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
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