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The adviser-linked Aurora KiwiSaver has rejigged its investment options, closing one fund while opening up two strategies and implementing a new multi-manager panel for the diversified options.
Sold via the related Aurora advisory network, the $170 million KiwiSaver scheme has wound up the Future Focused fund, which held about $44 million prior to the close.
At the same time, Aurora KiwiSaver members can now invest into a dedicated first home-buyers option and a new balanced strategy (a blend of the existing conservative and growth funds).
Aurora also offers the cash-style Liquidity fund, launched last year, and a trio of target date retirement products (blending growth and conservative portfolios) to complete the current KiwiSaver investment set.
Investors in the now-closed option were transferred to the growth fund late in August, according to Sean Henaghan, Aurora Capital chief investment officer. Aurora Capital is a separate entity – albeit with some common ownership – from Aurora Financial, which offers the KiwiSaver scheme and holds a financial advice provider (FAP) licence.
Originally conceived as the Climate fund, the Future Focused strategy invested in climate-change themes, mainly through BlackRock iShares exchange-traded funds.
However, Henaghan said with Aurora now at a suitable scale, the scheme was able to apply the same climate-related focus through a selection of global and NZ managers.
For global equities, Aurora uses the Stewart Global Investors Worldwide Leaders Sustainability Fund and the Dimensional Fund Advisors sustainable strategy.
“Importantly, both the Stewart and Dimensional funds are PIEs,” Henaghan said.
Other Aurora scheme managers include the First Sentier Investors global sustainable listed infrastructure fund (again, a PIE), the Manulife Affirmative Green Bond Fund and the Mint SRI local equities strategy.
Previously, the scheme used a Mint global diversified strategy as the core underlying manager for the growth fund.
“We always intended to adopt a multi-manager model,” Henaghan said. “Now we’ve reduced our key person risk and given investors exposure to five large funds with strong sustainability credentials.”
He said Aurora also has contracted a couple of Australian third-party data analytics providers to counter any ‘greenwashing’ risk with EMMI measuring portfolio carbon exposure and Sustainable Platform mapping holdings to the UN Sustainable Development Goals – and other ESG metrics – in real-time.
Aurora uses a portfolio monitoring tool, too, built by Auckland-based data specialist, Mission Intelligence.
Established in July 2021, Aurora has been the fastest-growing scheme from scratch since the launch of KiwiSaver in 2007.
The Aurora advice business, founded by Simon Rolland, hosts about 70 financial advisers under its FAP licence.
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