TEA closes funds

Trustees Executors is refocussing its business and rationalising its fund line up.

Tuesday, May 26th 1998, 12:00AM

Trustees Executors (TEA) has closed four funds in a drive to improve efficiencies and focus more tightly on its target market.
Managing director Jim Minto says there are too many funds on the New Zealand market and the best way to solve the problem was to close some.
"The number of funds in the market need to be dramatically rationalised," Minto says. "There needs to be fewer, much larger funds."
"We want to build our business around a real tight focus, Minto says. "That involves having fewer larger funds, which are market leaders."

The funds that have been closed are three single sector Tasman Retirement funds and the GAM Multi-Pacific fund the company promotes in New Zealand. This fund was being closed as it had less than $1 million in it and it had failed to reach critical mass.
The three Tasman funds, fixed interest, international shares and property, managed a total of about $38 million.
Besides closing these funds Minto says TEA is making two changes to the concepts behind its product range. On one side it is focussing on its niche market, which is described as retirees, with its Tasman branded funds.
This market wants products which provide very competitive levels of regular income, he says.
On the other side it is uncoupling the co-branding it does with the GAM funds.
Minto says TEA will continue to promote the GAM funds, and it intends to expand that range, however it will be done under the GAM name, not the TEA name.
"The GAM range is a separate brand (of funds) for financial advisers to use," he says.
Minto says there are likely to be further changes made to the TEA range of funds in the future.

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