Celsius Investments Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Bank, has launched Barclays Dynamic80 International Share Fund.
The fund aims to provide investors with a return linked to the performance of a diversified exposure to developed and emerging global equity markets in America, Europe, Asia, the Far East and Australia, via a basket of equity-linked iShares ETFs. A currency strategy partially hedges the iShares ETFs foreign currency exposure.
The Dynamic80 strategy was first used by Barclays in client portfolios in 2003, and provides the fund with an investment methodology that increases exposure to the iShares ETFs as their value increases and reduces exposure as their value falls.
Paul Hopkins, responsible manager of Celsius said: “The fund’s broad coverage of global equity markets offers investors a diversified portfolio risk and the advantages of continuous liquidity and transparency in pricing.”
Allen McCristal, director of Celsius, said: “The fund has been designed in response to adviser demand for better management of asset class and portfolio volatility. One of the key lessons learned over the last few years is that equity volatility can be very damaging to an investor’s outcome. This is especially true for those investors in the pension phase or nearing retirement, as it is very difficult to recover from large capital reductions over short to medium time frames.
“The Dynamic80 is attractive as it can be administered via platforms exactly like other managed funds used for clients. It can easily comprise part of an adviser’s strategic asset allocation to international equities. It also provides greater flexibility in the portfolio construction process – advisers can easily blend the Dynamic80 with their existing line-up of active managers to reduce volatility and improve return outcomes.
“The strategy also aligns with several key industry themes at present – firstly, better ways to manage volatility in clients’ portfolios and secondly, the growing presence and flexibility of ETFs for advisers.”