Fidelity has confirmed there will be changes in the trading status of the fund following a recent review that determined it was “no longer economically viable” to maintain the fund as a dual access fund.
Earlier this month, on 6 May, Fidelity announced it had made a formal request to the ASX to seek the revocation of admission of the fund to trading status.
“The fund is a dual-access fund which allows investors the choice of transacting in the fund’s units on the market via the ASX (on-market access as well as directly with us (off market access)),” it explained.
However, a review found it was not viable to maintain this dual-access status and continue to have the fund’s units quoted on the ASX, given “the lack of support for the fund strategy in the listed channel”.
As of 30 March 2024, the active ETF units represent 7.3 per cent or approximately $8.12 million of the fund’s total funds under management.
In an ASX announcement on Thursday, 30 May, Fidelity confirmed the changed trading status of the fund.
The fund’s last day of trading on the ASX will be on Wednesday, 5 June 2024.
However, Fidelity noted, the fund will not be terminated. “Rather, it will continue to operate as a single unquoted class of units which investors can continue to access off-market,” it explained.
The name of the fund will also be changed from “Fidelity Global Demographics Fund (Managed Fund)” to “Fidelity Global Demographics Fund” to reflect the fact that it will no longer be an “exchange traded product” as defined under existing ETP naming conventions.
The name change is expected to take effect after the fund’s last day of trading on the ASX.
An updated product disclosure statement and target market determination in relation to the fund is also expected to be issued in due course to reflect these changes.
Along with the proposed delisting of this fund, Fidelity recently announced the launch of four new offerings for Australian investors, namely the Fidelity Australian High Conviction Fund, Fidelity Asia Fund, Fidelity India Fund, and Fidelity Global Future Leaders Fund, all of which will be available as actively managed ETFs via the ASX.
The Fidelity Australian High Conviction Fund is actually the existing Fidelity Australian Opportunities Fund with a new name, launching on 3 June, while the other funds will launch on 31 May.
