Fidelity launches new ETF for Australian investors

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

14 December 2021

Fidelity International has launched its Global Demographics Fund as an actively managed exchange traded fund (ETF) on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The fund seeks to achieve returns and outperform its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index NR, in the medium to long term by investing in companies that grow and benefit from changing demographic trends.

First established in 2012, the fund holds between 50 and 70 stocks over a suggested timeframe of seven years and is managed by UK-based portfolio managers Aneta Wynimko, Alex Gold and Oliver Hextall.

 “Over the past couple of years we’ve seen a high degree of uncertainty around the globe, particularly to do with the macroeconomic and political environment, but demographic trends remain largely predictable,” Anthony Doyle, Cross Asset Investment Specialist, said.

“When we look at demographic factors such as age, education, income, and employment, these have, to a large extent, not changed since the pandemic.

“We continue to see the same long-term trends that we saw before Covid. For instance, the globe is still witnessing an overall growth in population, the population is still largely aging, and the middle class is still growing. These are the three main demographic factors that the Fund bases its investments thesis on.

Doyle also said the firm’s bottom-up approach to assessing how business models are set to develop and fluctuate in line with these demographic changes is the core strategy of the fund.

Alva Devoy, Managing Director of Fidelity, highlighted the reasoning behind launching the strategy in Australia via a listed structure, as Australian investors have continued to signal their interest in actively managed ETFs.

“Active ETFs are simple to access and you can buy and sell units in the fund via your broker or licenced adviser in the same way you buy or sell a share on the ASX. The difference is that one trade gives you access to a diversified portfolio of shares actively managed by an investment expert.

“This structure provides our clients with greater flexibility and choice of how they access our products,” she said.