Investment manager Fidante Partners today launched its ActiveX offering, which will comprise a series of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETF) run by a variety of boutique fund managers.
“We have developed ActiveX to address the growing popularity of exchange-traded products among Australian investors who want the ability to diversify their portfolio through a single security, while benefiting from the expertise of an active fund manager and the flexibility of being able to trade during market hours,” Fidante general manager Nick Hamilton said.
The first ETF introduced to the market in the ActiveX series is a fixed income ETF managed by Ardea Investment Management trading under the Australian Securities Exchange ticker code XARO.
The product is targeted toward investors looking for greater diversification than that offered by traditional equity and bond funds in the market.
“Investor allocations to defensive assets are increasing as they seek stability and income in their portfolios, but there are few listed options today,” Hamilton said.
The underlying asset for the ETF is the Ardea Real Outcome Fund established in 2012 with a history of generating higher returns than cash, bank deposits and inflation. The fund looks to provide low-volatility returns through investing in a broad range of fixed income sources.
“The ActiveX Ardea Real Outcome Bond Fund can provide SMSF trustees and their trusted advisers with returns that are independent of market direction, interest rate fluctuations and credit market volatility,” Hamilton noted.
Fidante is expecting XARO to attract significant interest from SMSF members, while also believing the offering will appeal to general retail investors, stockbrokers and advisers.
“Ardea has a long and successful track record of active management in domestic and global bonds on behalf of many of Australia’s largest investors. XARO is a reliable fixed income option for SMSFs that diversifies portfolio risk away from conventional equity, property and credit investments,” Ardea Investment Management co-founder Ben Alexander said.
Fidante is expecting to introduce more active ETFs under the ActiveX series in 2019.
