FMA eyes terminated funds

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New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority is looking into the effects on New Zealand investors of the decision to terminate four of van Eyk’s funds.

Tuesday, August 26th 2014, 6:00AM 1 Comment

by Susan Edmunds

It was revealed last week that the four Blueprint funds were being terminated after an investment into an illiquid asset.

Investors are expected to get up to 90% of their money back in the coming weeks, but New Zealanders may get less than those in other funds.

New Zealanders are primarily invested in the van Eyk Blueprint International Share Fund.

Van Eyk chief executive Mark Thomas had a meeting with the FMA last week. He said about 20% of the International Share Fund was invested in the illiquid asset. He said there were no concerns about the value of the investment, just its liquidity.

Investigations were continuing to determine how the investment happened, he said. Thomas said he was restricted in what he could say but Van Eyk earlier said that the fund’s underlying manager, Artefact Partners, elected to invest in a portfolio that was not in line with strategy and objectives.

An FMA spokesman confirmed yesterday that it was investigating.

“The FMA is making inquiries into the terminated funds, and specifically the impacts on New Zealand investors.”

The termination of the funds is a blow to the company, which has been trying to expand its advice reach in New Zealand.

Thomas earlier told Good Returns the company wanted to expand its advice force five-fold to get to 50 or 60 advisers within the next five years.

The advisers already working with van Eyk had been selling Blueprint funds.

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