Rothschild launches new funds with Putnam

New funds are celebrating a new tie-up as Rothschild Australia Asset Management and Putnam officially get together.

Wednesday, April 19th 2000, 12:00AM

New funds are celebrating a new tie-up as Rothschild Australia Asset Management, previously known only as a value manager, has teamed with US funds manager Putnam Investments on a range of multi-style investment options and products.

First off the block for local investors: three international equity trusts launched in Wellington yesterday. Stephen Karrasch, Rothschild’s director adviser services, said two of these were retail funds (minimum $A10,000, one of these with a nil entry fee and either 3.5 per cent brokerage and no trail fees or 0.8 per cent brokerage plus trail) and one a wholesale fund (minimum $A100,000, nil entry and exit fees, 1.29 per cent MER).

The three trusts will be managed according to what Putnam calls its global core equity investment approach, also termed style-neutral and what Putnam’s Senior Vice President John Storkerson claimed was "the best of both worlds".

Storkerson, portfolio manager in the global core equity group, said Putnam also had separate value and growth teams so it could offer a multi-manager approach. The Boston-based firm has $US415 billion under management, 82 per cent of that in equity portfolios, and claims a position in the top ten per cent of global equities managers worldwide.

Meanwhile, Rothschild was at pains to point out that it hasn’t deserted its value approach to investment, but was simply adding more strings to its bow. The Putnam connection will bear more fruit for investors later this year, as Karrasch said they would introduce further products including a multi-manager, multi-style capability.

Rothschild’s alliance with Putnam was first announced last December and has just taken effect from last Monday. Putnam now manages some $A900 million worth of international equities for Rothschild; the international equity portion of its balanced accounts and sector products.

Rothschild itself is responsible for more than $A8.5 billion in a range of retail and wholesale managed investments. It is represented in New Zealand by FMS.

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