Waratah annuity bonds get tick of approval

The research house issued an official “view” on the products yesterday explaining they provide “annuity style income stream over a defined term via a debenture issued by the NSW Treasury Corporation” and play a role in hedging against inflation risk.

“[Waratah annuity bonds] represent an effective way for smaller investors to access protection against inflation outside the more mainstream avenues of fixed-term indexed annuities or an inflation-linked bond fund.”

“Traditionally, access to direct inflation linked bonds and/or amortising bonds has been the domain of large scale institutional investors.”

The communication from Zenith – which attaches a “recommended” status to the products – said they are “best used to secure the defensive portion of a portfolio and to hedge against inflation over the long term” but added that they should form part of a “holistic approach to retirement planning”.