Global equities still the most popular funds

Oksana Patron

23 June 2023

Global equities has been still the most popular type of funds for local investors in Australia, however they account for only 22% compared to 43% a year ago, according to Equity Trustees which looked at the latest 100 funds launches.

At the same time, domestic equity funds accounted for 15% of all launches.

The second most popular type of funds was fixed income, with domestic accounting for 19% of funds launched, compared to 15% for global fixed income, the report confirmed.

These included corporate and government bond funds, asset-backed securities and notes coming to market. The report also found that several private debt and credit funds had been launched.

“This was clearly a reflection of tightening market conditions spurred by tightening fiscal policy and rising interest rates in response to rising inflation and geopolitical volatility,” Johnny Francis, General Manager of Business Development and Custody at Equity Trustees, said.

He noted that the majority of the latest 100 new funds were directed towards retail investors (47%), with less than a third (31%) directed towards wholesale investors.

Further to that, alternative products remained popular and included commodities, infrastructure, foreign exchange, and quant strategies. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) accounted for 12% and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) only 1%.