IML’s Aussie share fund now available as an ETF

Oksana Patron

2 August 2023

IML has announced that its Concentrated Australian Share Fund was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) for the first time on Tuesday and is now directly available to investors as an active exchange traded fund (ETF).

The Quoted Managed Fund is a separate class of units in the unlisted Concentrated Australian Share Fund, a Morningstar Gold-rated, high conviction fund that invests in a select group of 20- 30 high-quality, undervalued companies listed on the ASX.

The fund (IMLC) has been managed since the fund’s launch in 2010 by Hugh Giddy who has worked in financial markets since the 1990s and who will be supported by a team of 10 portfolio managers and analysts undertaking fundamental analysis on every stock in the fund.

The firm said that the unlisted fund has performed 1.1% p.a. better than the ASX 300 Accumulation Index since inception, after fees, with lower volatility, while also better protecting clients’ capital when markets fall.

According to IML chief executive Damon Hambly, the listing followed client demand who wanted more choice.

“Choice not only in the assets they invest in, but also the way they invest. We are offering the Concentrated Fund as an active ETF to suit our financial adviser clients that like to invest this way, as well as retail investors who manage their own portfolios,” Hambly said.

“As passive investing continues to rise in popularity we are seeing an increasing demand for funds like the Concentrated Fund that offer something significantly different to passive index investing.”

He added that due to a small number of stocks in the fund and their quality, the fund tended to drop less than the benchmark in tough times, “only falling half as much as the benchmark on average”.

“Because the fund performs quite differently to the benchmark, it offers diversification benefits for investors while still investing in Australian equities,” IML CEO noted.