BT and Westpac close retail funds

BT Funds Management and its parent company are closing down the bulk of their retail managed funds, closing 23 funds with a total value of $185 million.

Wednesday, August 3rd 2005, 6:37AM

by Rob Hosking

The funds being closed are all of the BT New Zealand Investment Selection series unit trusts, all of the BT Lifetime Plan series and the bulk of the Westpac single sector funds.

BT chief executive Mark Smith told Good Returns two weeks ago the company would move out of retail funds and put more emphasis on master trusts and wrap accounts.

The company has since moved to close down the funds, which involve just over 8200 investors. The funds will terminate on September 16: by law those investors will have to be paid out but they will also be presented with options for reinvestment.

In total, there are 23 funds affected, of which 11 have less than $5 million funds under management. A further 11 have between $10 and $20 million. The remaining two have funds between $20 and $35 million.

Westpac spokesman Ian Bonnar says investors have been voting with their feet away from retail funds for some time. “So we’ve taken the move, possibly earlier than some of the other fund mangers but we do expect others to follow suit.”

FundSource noted last week that retail managed funds have just experienced their sixth consecutive quarter of net negative funds flows.

“There are considerable fixed costs for these funds and it’s getting to the stage where it hurts the ones who remain,” Bonnar says.

Good Returns understands that a number of positions have been “disestablished” including people in the adviser support area.

Rob Hosking is a Wellington-based freelance writer specialising in political, economic and IT related issues.

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