ANZ and ETF Securities launch joint venture with six ASX listed exchange traded funds
ANZ and ETF Securities today announced the formation of a joint venture, which will provide a range of exchange traded funds (ETFs) developed for Australian investors and self-managed super funds.
The new company, known as ANZ ETFS Management (AUS) Limited (‘ANZ ETFS’), will list a range of six new ETFs on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in the coming weeks. The products are designed to be transparent and cost-effective building blocks for investment portfolios, providing exposure to commonly traded equity, commodity and foreign exchange benchmarks.
ANZ ETFS has licenced three indices developed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its equity ETFs, including the S&P ASX 100 Index, the S&P 500 Low Volatility High Dividend Index and a new S&P/ASX 300 Shareholder Yield Index, which was launched this morning and represents Australian listed companies with the highest shareholder yields.
The initial product range also includes a physical US Dollar ETF, a physical offshore Renminbi ETF and a physical gold ETF. Gold bullion for the physical gold ETF will be stored at ANZ’s vault in Singapore. Further products and additional asset classes will be added over time and in other Asia Pacific markets such as Hong Kong in response to demand from investors and intermediaries.
The joint venture marks the first entry of a major Australian financial institution into the Australian ETF market. It harnesses the securities expertise of ANZ’s Global Markets business, the strength of its Global Wealth and E*TRADE distribution channels and presence in 29 Asia Pacific markets, together with ETF Securities’ global track record in developing innovative exchange traded products.
ANZ ETFS will be based in Sydney and includes employees from both ANZ and ETF Securities. Danny Laidler, ETF Securities’ Head of Australia and New Zealand, has been appointed Co-Head and Head of Distribution at ANZ ETFS, while Adam Smith, currently Director of Business Execution at ANZ Global Markets, has been appointed Co-Head and Chief Operating Officer of the joint venture.
Eddie Listorti, ANZ Global Co-Head of Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities, said: “This partnership unites ANZ’s extensive knowledge of Australian financial markets and the domestic investment base, with ETF Securities’ expertise in constructing and operating ETF products. ANZ ETFS’ objective is to provide a range of high quality and low cost investment products that will in time provide diversified exposure to all major asset classes.”
Joyce Phillips, ANZ CEO of Global Wealth, added: “ETFs are increasingly being used by our customers as an important, often tactical, part of their portfolios. ANZ Wealth will continue to offer these, as part of innovative investment solutions, to our customers.”
Graham Tuckwell, Founder and Chairman of ETF Securities, said: “Australia was amongst the pioneers of ETFs over a decade ago, but since then has watched overseas markets adopt them more widely and faster. We believe this is now changing as Australian investors embrace ETFs, investing record levels over the last year. They are recognising ETFs’ multiple advantages, especially intelligent and low cost access to a broad range of benchmarks. This is why we are excited to be partnering with ANZ to offer a new and comprehensive ETF platform, delivering more choice and greater access to Australian investors.”