The TIME (Telecommunications, Information Technology and Media Enterprises) fund is the second sector specific fund BT offers (the other being an energy and resources fund).
One of the key features of the fund is that it is a global fund being managed by BT out of Australia, as opposed to a trust that is managed by a Northern Hemisphere manager.
BT chief investment officer Craig Stobo says the three sectors the fund invests in make up about 40 per cent of the global sharemarket.
The fund is looking to buy companies which are contributing to the global transition from an industrial economy to an information based one, consequently it's not that interested in the hot dot.com stocks.
Likewise it is internationally focussed. Stobo says it holds no New Zealand or Australian companies - not even the big players like Telecom and Telstra.
He says the BT managers are looking for companies that have managers with the ability to execute business strategies, to manage capital, and to have transparency of decision making.
A key feature of the fund is that it will be benchmarked against the newly created MSCI-BT TIME Index that covers 12 industries and 180 companies.
Stobo says it was important to have a relevant benchmark to measure the fund against, rather than using the US-centric NASDAQ index which in such industries as bio-technology and pharmaceuticals, or by solely referring to local tech offerings.
The fund will be available in New Zealand on May 1 (the same day BT's Japan Fund is launched).
Currently, tech funds are all the rage in Australia which Colonial First State, AMP Asset Management, Schroders and ANZ all at various stages of rolling out products.
BT expects its TIME fund will attract about A$100 million from Australian investors this year.
| « News Round Up | Get your tax questions answered online » |
Special Offers
© Copyright 1997-2024 Tarawera Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved