Wednesday, Sep 29, 2010
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DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Australian investment manager Hyperion Asset Management has launched an Islamic equity fund that will initially target Middle East investors seeking to benefit from Australia's economic growth potential.
"The fund will invest in listed Australian equities and targets an annualized rate of return of about 15%-20%. We hope to have initial commitments in place by the end of October for the first close, which should be in excess of $40 million," said Douglas Clark Johnson, chief executive officer at Codexa Capital, which consulted on fund structuring and marketing, and represents the product in selected markets.
"The Bahrain-domiciled product is designed for global investors but the initial focus is on the Middle East. It will have about 12 to 20 stocks in its portfolio," Johnson said, adding that the Hyperion Australian Equity Islamic Fund will be the first Shariah-compliant offshore fund.
"In the post-recession era, Australia stands out among the major markets, in part because of the country's conservative fiscal stance," he added.
"Unlike many developed nations, Australia avoided recession during the global financial crisis. The nation is expected to sustain 3% to 4% annual GDP growth over the next several years," Johnson said.
Hyperion, a Brisbane-based growth-style manager with assets worth about $2 billion under management, uses a proprietary process to manage a high-conviction portfolio made up of a limited set of stocks that meet strict selection criteria, for Shariah compliance and other business attributes, the company said in a statement.
The fund is available to individuals and institutions that have at least $100,000 in financial assets, as well as governments and related organizations. The fund is managed in Australian dollars and reported in U.S. dollars, the statement added.
-By Nikhil Lohade, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 446 1694, nikhil.lohade@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
29-09-10 1112GMT
