Fund Product, Company and Regulatory Updates as at 20 March 2020
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Product Updates
ETF Securities launches NYSE ETF
A new exchange-traded fund (ETF) is being launched by ETF Securities, offering investments in 10 high-growth stocks tracking the New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) FANG+ Index. The new product offers Australians investments in Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (Alphabet), Alibaba, Baidu, Nvidia, Telsa and Twitter.
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Company Updates
First State Super and WA Super talking merger
Two large superannuation funds are considering a merger to create a $109 billion fund. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by First State Super and WA Super, with the process due to be complete mid-2020. First State Super is the industry fund for teachers, nurses and carers, while WA Super is the default fund for local Western Australian government employees. The combined fund would have 60,000 members.
Prodigy IP to close
Multi-boutique investment firm, Prodigy Investment Partners, is to close down after its joint venture partner, Euroz, pulled out. Euroz and Prodigy have been partnered since 2014, with three boutiques joining - Dalton Street Capital, Flinders Investment Partners, and Equus Point Capital. Euroz chose to stop funding Prodigy, saying Prodigy had failed to scale satisfactorily. Prodigy’s boutiques had $80-$90 million in assets under management. Dalton and Equus will wind down funds, returning capital to investors. Other options are being considered for Flinders.
Perpetual drops MySuper
Perpetual’s MySuper offering is being taken over by CareSuper. Over 7,000 members and $220 million will leave Perpetual’s care.
UBS no longer providing full suite of ETFs
UBS is terminating six ETFs and delisting three due to growth slowing. UBS offers nine ETFs with $300 million in funds under management. UBS has decided to focus on institutional business.
