Equitable investors shift into debentures

The trust has had a  tough couple of years and has become "uneconomic" and outside the government's retail deposit guarantee scheme.

Equitable made the decision to move towards exiting the trust in October after "substantial changes" in the market and changing regulation over the past three years, spokesman Andrew Mexted-Bragg said.

Since then, about 48% of investors have switched mainly into the debenture holding of the fund, Equitable Mortgages, with the rest being paid out.

"We realised we had to act in the best interests of all our investors and make sure they got their money back in full or got the opportunity to reinvest," Mexted-Bragg said.