The asset management arm of the UK’s largest insurers, Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA), has used the opportunity of converting a number of unit trusts into an open ended investment company to launch a new tracker fund aimed at the institutional market.
The new FTSE All-Share Tracker Fund is a sub-fund of the new umbrella OIEC is aimed at both the institutional and the retail market, says Nick Criticos, managing director of RAS unit trust arm. The fund will be of particular interest to large institutional fund managers, as the annual management charge falls to 0.1% for investments of £20m (E31m), with 0.25% charged for £200,000 investments and 0.3% for £25,000.
He adds: “This fund could be used as a core holding in the construction of any diversified UK equity portfolio.” The actively managed funds also see their fees cut to 0.3% for the UK funds, 0.4% for the European Fund and 0.4% for the International Growth Fund, where the amount invested is £10m or over.
l Barclays Global Investors is managing the Global Multinational Equity Fund, designed to track the newly launched FTSE Global 100 Index, which invests in 100 of the world's biggest corporates.
The fund is a sub-fund of the Luxembourg based umbrella Sicav barclays International Funds. Three share classes are offered: Class A with a minimum $5,000 investment, an initial 3.5% charge and a 1% annual management fee; Class B shares are for those with discretionary portfolios with the group, with a minmum $50,000 investment, the initial charge can be up to 5%, while the annual fee is 0.7%. Class C share are for those in markets with no front-end loads on funds, but a redemption charge of up to 5% is made, while the annual fee for management is 1.5%. Most sales are likely to be of class A shares, the group says.