Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) has launched a new product for the retail market, offering investors a mix of active and passive management within the one fund structure. Available to retail investors from 25 November, the Bennelong Twenty20 Australian Equities Fund invests passively in the top 20 stocks, similar to an index fund, whilst actively investing in the ex-20 market. The ex-20 component of the portfolio will employ the same highly successful investment methodology used in the Bennelong ex-20 Australian Equities Fund.
The fund will hold 40-55 stocks and the weighting of top 20 and ex-20 exposures will reflect their respective weights in the benchmark. The fee structure is a very competitive 0.39% (plus a Performance Fee), which compares favourably with popular index funds and ETFs. With its mix of passive and active management, the fund provides an efficient way to gain all-cap exposure to Australian equities.
Julian Beaumont, Investment Director at BAEP, said the team was really enthusiastic about the innovative approach employed within their newest fund and its potential to deliver strong performance to investors in a cost efficient structure.
“What gets lost in the active versus passive debate is that there’s a place for both styles. In Australia, passive suffices for exposure in the top 20, whilst active management makes sense outside of the top 20, where thorough research and analysis can help achieve strong out-performance. Combining passive and active management can deliver the best of both worlds to investors,” Julian said.
The Twenty20 Fund taps into BAEP’s wealth of experience in actively managing ex-20 money, leveraging the team’s expertise as the first to market with an ex-20 strategy in 2009. Since then, BAEP has built a consistent and strong track record of outperforming the ex-20 market.
BAEP recently won the highly regarded 2015 Zenith/Professional Planner Award in the ‘Australian equities – large caps’ category and the prestigious Golden Bull Award at the Australian Fund Manager Awards (AFMA).