MA Financial launches China equity fund

In partnership with investment management group and Beijing-based ChinaAMC, MA Financial has launched the MA ChinaAMC Equity Fund, which will provide Australian wholesale investors access to mid to large Chinese companies.

The MA ChinaAMC Equity Fund invests in a high-conviction portfolio of 30 to 70 stocks listed on both Chinese onshore (A-shares) and offshore markets.

"Given the size of China in terms of GDP and China in terms of the size of being the second biggest equity market, we think it's only natural that investors would want to allocate part [of their portfolio] to that market," head of MA Financial Group's asset management division, Andrew Martin told Industry Moves.

The fund has been under development for some time and Martin says it should be viewed as a five-year plus investment proposition.

ChinaAMC is a leading manager of foreign capital in the region and through the partnership, the fund can provide Australian wholesale investors access to more than 200 professionals covering more than 80 per cent of Chinese listed equities.

MA Financial also has a presence in China, which Martin says aided the negotiations with ChinaAMC.

"We wouldn't have attempted to launch a China Fund without that localized capability," Martin says.

"So, we've been in discussions for some time ago, we have done exhaustive due diligence, we're fortunate that we, as a firm, have a reasonable presence in China."

As a wholesale fund, it currently has a minimum investment of $100,000, and a management fee of 1.2 per cent. There is also a performance fee of 15 per cent of the performance exceeding the benchmark (MSCI China All Shares Total Return in AUD), subject to a high watermark.

Martin says they expect to make it accessible to retail investors via platforms in due course.

"The interest is strong. I think there's going to be a period of education...People need to look beyond the current headlines and look at the fundamentals. The fundamentals, as I say, I think are compelling."

Martin hopes the launch will create some institutional interest as well.