AMP Financial Planning and its affiliated dealer group, Hillross, have added the BT Investment Management Global Macro Fund to their platform and approved product lists.
The Global Macro Fund, which is led by BTIM head of global macro Joe Bracken, is a multi-asset class, absolute return fund that invests in equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives of these asset classes.
The fund was recently upgraded by Standard & Poor's to four stars from three.
In recent months, the fund has experienced more interest from insurance companies and superannuation funds, and Bracken said he was in the final stages of discussions for a number of mandates.
"We are quite advanced with a number of them," he said.
Over the 12 months to the end of January 2011, the fund returned 3.1 per cent after fees, against 4.8 per cent for the benchmark, but over the two-year period the fund returned 6.4 per cent, whereas the benchmark returned only 4.1 per cent.
The current fund aims to achieve a return of 3 per cent or more over its benchmark at a volatility of between about 3 per cent to 4 per cent on average.
However, Bracken said BT Investment Management had noted demand for a higher-volatility version of the fund, and he expected to launch a new fund in the next few months.
"The current fund could be seen as a substitute for bonds, but the high-volatility version is more aimed at equity investors," he said.
