This September we launched the tenth fund into our portfolio of managed funds. We love all our funds, and this one is no exception, particularly as it is designed to for investors who are seeking moderate long-term growth while aligning their investments with their values.

At a time when volatility in share markets have been heightened, the moderate fund aims to find assets to invest in that are potentially more stable and defensive in periods like this, including unlisted property, alternative assets and fixed income, along with select Australian and international shares.

Like all our funds, this new fund is invested for both profit and purpose. We seek to deliver investment returns while working to change the world for the better in our managed funds, exactly in the same way we invest super.

What’s a managed fund?

If you don’t know what managed funds are, they’re essentially professionally managed investment portfolios that pool money from multiple investors to purchase a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other securities or assets. The primary goal of a managed fund is to provide investors with exposure to a diverse range of investments while being managed by experienced investment professionals.

All of the investments in our managed funds are ethically screened using our unique Ethical Criteria and diversified with a mix of assets to deliver long-term returns and manage short term volatility.

Because managed funds pool investments, they usually have larger amounts of capital to allocate, potentially resulting in more meaningful positions in companies and assets than most individual investors.

Investing in this way has its advantages, not least of which is that our investment experts are able to build a deep knowledge and familiarity with the companies we invest in. This can often extend to meetings with company CEOs during periods they’re explaining their strategies to investors. This helps us better understand the future prospects of the businesses we are backing.

Having larger amounts of capital to allocate can also mean managed funds are able to access asset classes and investments that may be challenging to individual investors to access such as overseas markets and unlisted or private investments.

Another trademark of a managed fund structure – in the same way we manage our superannuation portfolios – is that risk is actively tracked and monitored, leading to portfolios holdings that are adjusted depending on what might be suitable for prevailing market conditions.

All of the investments in our managed funds are ethically screened using our unique Ethical Criteria.

Our family of funds

The new Moderate fund continues to build out the stable of funds we offer, each with a unique approach designed to suit different investor risk appetites.

The funds sit within our multi-asset portfolios and invests in asset classes including Australian and international shares, unlisted property, alternative assets and fixed income securities. The overall objective of the fund is to provide a diversified portfolio that has a balance between defensive and capital growth investments with medium level of risk. The Fund aims to achieve returns 2.50% above inflation after management costs over a 10-year period.

Our other multi-asset/diversified funds include Balanced and High Growth funds and a soon-to-be launched Conservative fund. We also have High Conviction, Emerging Companies and Australian Shares Funds in the Australian equities category. In addition to Australian equities and muti-asset, we also have funds in the international and fixed interest categories.

All our funds are ethically screened and aim to deliver investors risk-adjusted investment performance over the medium to long term while allocating capital to investments that we believe can influence progress towards a better future for people, animals and the environment, while restricting investments in those that we believe are a threat to that progress, in line with the 23 aims of our Ethical Charter.

The new Moderate fund continue to build out the stable of funds we offer, each with a unique approach designed to suit different investor risk appetites.