JERSEY- Ashburton, the Jersey-based investment manager, has launched its first money market funds denominated in sterling, euro and US dollar, which will provide retail investors with the same opportunities as institutional investors of money market funds.

The funds have been designed to appeal to investors looking for a greater level of return than produced by cash deposits, but wary of investing in the stock markets.

“With interest rates at such depressed levels and with the extreme volatility in the markets, there will be many private clients seeking alternative investment schemes,” says Trevor Falle, managing director at Ashburton.

The target annual return is three month LIBOR less 50 basis points.

“The funds are in a portfolio exposed to cash or cash equivalent instruments traded on the global capital markets. Private investors are able to obtain similar levels of return to those available to institutional investors, with the same level of capital security,” says Falle.

Investments will include bank deposits, bills of exchange, floating rate notes, certificates of deposit and bond with less than one year to maturity. FRNs and bonds will have a minimum rating of A1 (S&P).

The funds will initially invest through an institutional SICAV umbrella fund based in Luxembourg that Ashburton’s investment team already manages for RMB Asset Management, part of Ashburton’s parent company, FirstRand.

Once the funds have grown to an adequate size, the portfolios may be extended to include directly held cash deposits and money market instruments.

The minimum investment figure is e15,000. Applications can be made on a weekly basis, to be received by Wednesday mornings for dealings on the Friday. Funds will be managed by Peter Lucas, Ashburton’s global investment strategist.

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